Flying toward the Sun

Done!  Isn't that a fabulous word?  Sometimes I have felt that the Phoenix and I have been trapped in a tunnel, but this past week we broke out into the sunshine.  I finished.  After more than a year, I finished!  I only have to hand stitch the sleeve on the back.  I plan to show the quilt so I can't post a full photo until it is accepted in its first show.  Here is the bird hanging alone on my fancy design wall.  It hung there while I quilted the background quilt onto which I eventually sewed it.

Thread-painted Phoenix

I am breathless with the anticipation of starting a new project.  While the quilt was drying on the blocking board I began preparation to redo the portrait of my grandson.  The problem I had the first time was thread choice - too pink for Asian skin.  I have since purchased threads in brown tones, which should work better.  The next challenge was to print the posterized image at decreased opacity on Sulky Sticky to stick to background fabric as a guide.  Unfortunately, my Sulky Sticky is on a tight roll and I could not get it flattened enough to go through the printer.  What to do?  I thought that ironing it flat would be my choice, but can I iron the stuff?  So off to the faithful, useful Internet.  After looking at several sites I found that you can iron transfers onto it for embroidery purposes.  What I took from that piece of info is that it can be ironed.  So I did, placing it under a silicone pressing sheet.  It flattened out beautifully and I was able to print the portrait.

TIP:  Use the Internet.  There is a ton of useful information out there on the products we use for quilting (but then, you already knew that).  An added benefit is that researching and continued learning  keep your brain agile as you get older.

Black Belt

The dark strip across the eyes is where two pieces of the printed Sulky Sticky overlap.  The thread painting will cover it or I may use an eraser to tone it down before sewing.  I can also gently lift it and carefully cut it away.  Trial and error is my middle name.  I have begun stitching one cheek with the lightest colors.  I find thread painting very relaxing - much like painting in other media.

Sew some happy stitches this week.

Thread Painting Prep Technique on Trial

I can finally see the light at the end of the Phoenix tunnel.  The bird is on the quilt and I am quilting the lower third where fire burns under the bird.  I hope to be done by the end of the month.

So...what is next?  I will be doing a thread painted portrait of my grandson.  Those of you who follow me regularly have seen my first attempt.  My colors were wrong so I will be shopping for thread in brown tones to accommodate his Asian skin.  Forget the pink!  I will also be trying a new technique.

Original Photo

There are three methods for prepping a portrait to be thread painted.  For all three you posterize a black and white version of the photo in an image editing program (I use Photoshop).  This will give you delineation of the values needed (4-6 is best).  Any more than 6 values and you will probably go crazy.  There are three ways to carry on from here.

Posterized black and white

1.  Using fusible fabric.  Print two copies on freezer paper, one as a guide, the other to cut into pattern pieces.  You don't have to cut every teeny, weeny dot; the cuts can be a bit more general.  The pattern pieces and the guide must all be carefully marked.  Lea McComas  has an excellent system, which she describes in detail in her book, "Thread Painted Portraits."  The cut pattern pieces are used to cut fabric to which fusible material has been applied.  Again, her book has all the details and photos to help.  I used this method for my bird and I like the depth that is achieved.  Not all parts are completely covered with thread so the underlying fabric peeks through and adds richness to the texture.  The example below is loosely thread painted as I wanted to give the illusion of ruffled feathers.  The point here is that the different fabrics add to the illusion.

Ruffled feathers on the Phoenix

2.  Using a photo printed on fabric.  I took a class from Lea and saw some work she has done with this method.  You back your fabric with freezer paper and print the black and white, posterized photo right onto fabric that has been treated so the ink won't run. The thread painting covers the black and white ink and is not noticeable unless you really look closely.  Click to enlarge and look between thread lines to see the gray background.  That's what I did with my first attempt at a portrait.  This portrait was not successful because of the colors of thread I chose.  The prepping was fine and I would call that part successful.

Practice piece (bad thread colors)

TIP:  If you are afraid to run fabric through your printer you can print on Sulky Sticky and stick it to  your fabric.  Even if you have to print on two pieces and match with a small overlap it works fabulously.  I cut my printed Sulky Sticky out around the head and shoulders so my background fabric remained uncovered.  A big plus is that you don't take a chance of ruining the background fabric and/or your printer when printing.  You also don't have to send it out to one of the companies that will print it for you (unless you plan on a huge quilt).

3.  Printing with color on fabric (or Sulky Sticky).  I am a Photoshop junkie so this may not work for you if you don't have any interest in or expertise with a photo imaging program.  I made my black and white posterized image and then, with the free-form pencil on a separate layer I traced around the lightest value and filled that space with the lightest color I intend to use.  Then on another layer I traced and filled the next darker value with that darker color. . . and so on.  It took me a lot less time than cutting little, irregular pieces of fabric.

Two of the color values traced (each is on its own layer in Photoshop)

Instead of printing black and white I will print the color version and use matching colors of thread, blending the edges where different colors meet.

Posterized color version ready for printing

This is my own idea so I will have to let you know how it works.  I also have to test the ink on Sulky Sticky to make sure is won't run.  I can do that with the practice version that I made in December.   I am thinking out loud here.  We'll see how it works. . .

. . . but I have to FINISH the Phoenix first!

TIP:  Plan ahead.  That way you have plenty of time to work out at least some the bugs before you start sewing the next project.  I hate UFOs.

Sew a happy seam this week.

All Better Now

Both my health and my Phoenix are better now.  I missed five days of sewing, but was productive in other, less intense creative pursuits. See my coat of arms.  Somehow sitting at the computer working with Adobe Illustrator was more energy efficient than wrestling a quilt through the sewing machine, but I am back on track now.  I have 3/4 of the bird attached to the quilt now.

Wings sewn down with thread painting.

It takes a lot of thread to cover the rather thick edges.  Remember the bird has its own fabric, batting and backing and those thick edges have to be covered up with thread painting.  The total comes to 4-5 layers of fabric, 2 layers of stabilizer, and 2 layers of batting.  For definition and stabilization of the interior feathers I outlined with dark red thread and a straight, free-motion stitch.  Elsewhere I free motion with a zig-zag stitch.  It took a bit of practice to learn to aim it right, but it is a great way to do bird feathers.

The only problem that arose was frequent thread breaking.  I am using Isacord thread and figured a #12/80 needle should be good because needle size is determined by thread size.   However, since there are so many layers to go through I changed to a #14/90 needle and it works much better.  Needle holes are not an issue because there is so much thread being laid down.

TIP:  If one thing doesn't work, get creative and try something else.  My bird would be dead if I hadn't done that.  It has taken a long time to re-do, but so worth it.

Sew a happy seam this week.

Slow Progress is still Progress

The title is what I feel about my Phoenix quilt.  I finished the quilt base.  The finished bird had been cut from the original quilt when I saw I would have to do it over so it has thread painting on top, white batting in the middle and black backing on the back.  The problem is that the white batting won't be completely hidden when I sew the bird down to the quilt base.  Completely unacceptable!  I pondered the problem for three months as I was quilting the base, aka background, and decided that I would color the edges with Inktense pencils.

Awful white batting shows at the edges

TIP:  Got a problem?  Ponder, think, lay awake at night, talk to others.  Give it time and you will figure out what to do.  Try out some ideas.  Sometimes you may decide to throw it out, but I find that happens very rarely in my sewing room.  I did cut the bird out of the first quilt, but I saved the background pieces and used them as testers along the way.

Oh, major tedium to paint all those edges.  I figured it would take the rest of my life...not literally.  I put up a card table and got out all the equipment, started an audio book, and set to work.  I took a reasonably sharp pencil of the appropriate color, dipped it into fabric medium and painted over the edges where the batting shows with the dampened pencil.  Fantastic!  It looks wonderful and I am soooooo happy.  There are some cut threads, which was unavoidable, and the black backing shows a bit of fraying, but all that will be covered as I thread paint the bird to the background.  As I went along I used a hair dryer to heat-set the pencil paint to make it permanent, and to prevent my rubbing color onto the top of the piece as I worked.  It took about 4.5 hours, which is a pretty short lifetime.  Next, I put the bird between two silicone sheets and ironed it from the front and from the back for more heat setting.

Edges painted

TIP:  Anything you do in life has its times of tedium.  What can I say?  Suck it up and dive in.  Pretty soon it will be done and you will wonder why you dreaded it.

I noticed some water soluble thread that I had used for basting months ago so I sprayed water on it to get rid of it.  Three days now I have done the water treatment, but bits of the thread still show.  It is getting better, but I know now that the bird does not bleed color so I will be able to give the finished quilt a good soak when it is all done and ready to block.  The wash-away thread should disappear, but if not a Micron pen will hide it.

I was not able to work on the quilt while the bird was wet, so I started drawing out some ideas for a whole cloth quilt.  This was very relaxing, and though I am not yet completely happy with it, I can let it sit and come back to it later with new eyes.

TIP:  I find that letting ideas percolate for awhile leads to a better finished product.  I rarely rush into a new project, and it is fun to know that something is ready when the current project is complete.

Now I have three projects ready to start and many more in my brain.

Sew a happy seam this week.

Quilting Friendlies and a Portrait

Quilting Friendlies can be found wherever quilts are being sewn, quilted or shown.  The ones I have met are so congenial and accepting.  I was in WI for Christmas where my daughter is a professional longarm quilter and quilt appraiser.  She took me to a couple of her sewing groups for sessions of sewing and socializing.  These ladies were all so friendly and accepting of me, a stranger.  Everyone is interested in others' projects and helpful when needed.  Of course we all have one common interest, which helps, and the variety of inspiring, creative artistry is endless within such a group.

I did not take my Phoenix bird with me, which was a mistake, but did take the portrait that I had designed and was ready to start.  It is a small project so was perfect to transport.  It started out great, but gradually devolved into a practice project.  Below is a small crop of what I did.

Black Belt

I am generally content with the overall technique and learned a lot about the sewing as I went, but discovered numerous problems, and am not happy with the end result.  My thread colors are really bad - way too red for Asian skin.  The ear is too defined, so it needs to be softened.  The shadow side of his face (not shown in this crop) turned out to be wayyyyyy too dark and wayyyyyy too red.  The eye is OK as the white part of it is really white, but doesn't show properly in the photo.  Some problems could have been solved, but the dark shadow on the other side of the face is awful.  The hair I love - it is perfect, but I will start over with new thread colors for the skin.

TIP:  Don't get too discouraged when a new technique doesn't work out right.  Sit down and figure out where you went wrong.  If you find you don't like working that technique, that is a positive too. It is OK to say, "forget it" like I did with landscape quilting!  If you enjoy doing it and are happy with some of it, keep plugging.  Each project will be better as you become more competent.

I had a great blog-cation, but it is nice to be home and set up to sew in my own space. My sewing room is now cleared of all the stuff that was transported back to WI and MN and feels almost spacious.

Sew a happy seam this week.

New Learning Opportunity

I love the work of Lea McComas.  Her quilts look like photos in thread, unbelievably precise and realistic.  I bought her book (available on Amazon), "Thread Painted Portraits," one year ago and used it as the basis for learning how to thread paint my Phoenix bird.   The poor creature reclines on a bed in suspended animation waiting to be sewn onto his background quilt.

Last week I discovered that Lea McComas was giving a workshop for the Rocky Mountain Creative Quilters reasonably close to my home.  I had never heard of this group, but wrote to the program contact to ask if there was room in the class.  There was one spot left and I had four days to get a check to her to hold the place.  Kindly she signed me up when I advised her that the check was in the mail.  I dragged my sewing machine and the paraphernalia needed for a full day workshop.  The class was well organized with plenty of time to try out Lea's techniques with her supervision.  She visited each pupil several times during the class to comment, critique, and approve.

I know I must finish my Phoenix, but I will have time during the holidays when I can't work on the bird, but want to have a small project to entertain me.  Using the suggested techniques I have prepared a photo of my grandson and will give it a try.  I anticipate the finished project to be about 12" x 15" so not too big.  Here is one of my photos that I prepared in Photoshop to show the areas which will be sewn with different values.  The color in his face will be more vibrant when painted with thread.  It is easier to see the values on this muted version, and they are critical for portraits.

Black Belt

Where appropriate, the hard lines will be blended together.  I am already planning my threads and have the materials on a list for the next time I descend the mountain to shop.

TIP:  Be open to new learning opportunities.  Not only did I learn a lot, I had fun and met some very nice people.  I plan to go to some of their meetings in the future and may join the group.

Sew a happy seam this week.

Battle Plan

Cathy commented on my last post about my "battle plan."  Unfortunately, I had been been battling with emotions rather than plans.  Struggling with testers. Figuring out how to do it.  Jayne Bentley Gaskins responded to my email about the thread painting problem even though she was busy setting up a second home in VA.  She kindly shared her expertise and encouraged me to stay with it and try to use the bird that is already thread painted.  So I sat down and did some more testing.  I am going to go for it.  I am so glad to have my decision made.  After two weeks of waffling I am ready to move forward with a true battle plan.

TIP:  When you have a fail and want to move on it helps to walk away for awhile, do something else and let the ideas percolate.  In time it all settles into place and your brain adapts to new possibilities.  Mistakes often evolve into new techniques.

TIP:  Don't be afraid to contact other quilters even if they are well-known and published.  If they don't answer, no loss, but quilters are some of the nicest people with whom I have ever associated.  In my experience they are kind and willing to share.

I have begun the tedious job of drawing the background design on a new piece of fabric.  I say tedious, because it involves drawing precise lines with Micron pens, which are very permanent.  These lines must be measured as exactly as I can manage so I spent two-plus hours working very carefully. Measure twice, check it out, measure again, say a prayer, and draw the line.  I made two slight errors:  one will be painted over and I hope the bird will cover the other.  If not, I will figure out something on the fly, an extra feather or something.  There is a lot more to do, but the areas with the 1/2 inch grid are finished > sigh of relief.  Fatigue reared its ugly head so it was time to quit for the day.

Grid with freezer paper to guide the extent of design so I don't waste
my Inktense pencils.

What did I do differently and better?  I planned out the lines of the background design better.  I will no longer have the bird eating a golf ball.

From the trashed quilt.

I will no longer have a black line of pieced fabric lining up with a black line of background.  I thought that looked a little funny, but I couldn't do anything about it first time around and was just glad I could line them up exactly rather than slightly off.  Now I don't have to worry about that as the point will be in a section of grid rather than on the edge.

From the trashed quilt.

I painted the crosswise, dividing lines with Inktense pencils and got a deeper, more vibrant color this time.  I masked each line with masking tape and was able to pencil harder and darker because I didn't have to worry about going out of the lines.  I used a popsicle stick to rub the tape down tight so no color could escape.  Same thing when I applied the fabric medium over the pencil.  Much easier.  I don't know if it saved time or not, but I am pleased with the results.  Compare the painted black lines in the above photo with the new ones below.

Lines done and masking tape in place for the next one.

I have a lot more painting to do while the bird just relaxes behind my sewing machine waiting for its resurrection.  Actually, it kind of looks dead doesn't it?  Spooky!  Just wait....

Sew a happy seam this week.

Opportunities

Have you ever looked at your quilt and said, "I wish I had done that differently.  I have such a good idea, but it didn't come to me soon enough.  I wish...., but not enough to take it out and do it over."  Every now and then you might have that opportunity for improvement, but I guarantee you will not be happy at first.

I have been quilting along on my Phoenix bird, but I looked at it differently when I laid it out and showed it to my daughter.  The bird is beautiful by itself.  The rest of the quilt looks and feels like warped cardboard.  Oh dear!  This is not going to be good enough to show and none of my photos show how bad it is.  I can't imagine it blocking out.  It won't even be good enough to give to my sweet granddaughter who drew the design.  Realization.  Devastation.  Destruction of denial.

I have been going through past issues of Machine Quilting Unlimited, and serendipitously came across an article by Jayne Bentley Gaskins, "Taking Trapunto to the Limit." I looked at it months ago, but forgot it completely because it didn't apply to my quilting plans at that moment.  She made a beautiful parrot, but she thread painted it separately then appliquéd it to the background by thread painting the edges down so they melded with the previous work on the bird.  She also stuffed the bird heavily (trapunto) with polyfill so it sticks out significantly from the quilt.  One of her points was that the heavy thread painting dramatically shrinks the fabric, which is exactly what happened to me.  I knew that would happen, but thought I had prepared for it adequately with two layers of stabilizer.  Instead, I was left with an unmanageable volume of fabric around the edges so I quilted the background heavily, which took up the excess, but the whole thing ripples like a bad storm at sea.  On the sewing machine it looked ok.  Laid out on a flat surface it is hopeless.

TIP:  Sometimes there is only so much you can do before it is time to throw in the towel, but what a great opportunity to rectify mistakes and make a truly magnificent quilt.  Wipe away the tears and start planning.  Maybe you'll feel better if you move on to a new project, but do move on.  None of us is perfect.

I had to accept that I now have an opportunity to fine tune the quilt and try some new methods.  My cup is quickly moving from half empty to half full and I am ready with new plans.  I thought I could cut out the bird (batting and all) and thread paint the edges down to a new, fully quilted background, so I tried it on one of the old testers that I had laying around.  The bared edges flaunted the layer of white batting.  Ick!

Cut out feathers

OK, how about painting the edges with Inktense pencils?  Great idea.  So I tried it out:

Painted edges.

Better, but not great.  Next I tried stitching the feathers (with painted edges) to another tester piece, which was layered for quilting, and fooled around with some stitching.  Ah, that looks pretty good with just a straight stitch run back an forth along the edges.

Stitched down

Not bad.  DH liked it and so did I.  So...I sat down and cut out the whole bird trying to avoid cutting stitches on the outside edges.  I did cut a few, but figured I could fix that when I stitched the bird down, but then I found another problem.  The back neck of the bird looked like he had been slammed by a rock and had a major bump.  The black backing was also badly frayed after being handled so much.  That's when I threw in the towel.

I ordered light weight canvas and Misty Fuse and I am ready to start completely over.  I will fuse fabric pieces for the feathers to the canvas and thread paint the bird.  I still have to work out the potential of heavy fraying with canvas and how to handle it.  I will do all the quilting for the background separately from the thread painting.  I will then cut out the bird and appliqué it onto the "finished" quilt.  I am already excited about it.  I kept all my pattern pieces and guides so I am ready to go.  With all that done, plus many hours of practice at thread painting I am optimistic that all will go well and faster than first time around.  I've got my mother's bulldog gene!

TIP:  Practice may not make perfect, but it will make better.  I am counting on that.

An apropos quote from "Art and Fear" by David Bayles and Ted Orland:"

"The function of the overwhelming majority of your artwork is simply to teach you how to make the small fraction of your artwork that soars....even the failed pieces are essential"

Sew a happy seam this week.

It's OK to be Lazy - Occasionally

Yes, I was lazy last week.  I didn't write a post.  Summertime is unpredictable even though my children left the nest long ago.  There is yard work to do.  I have trays my mother painted with Early American Design that have become damaged with use.  I need to repair them in the summer when the weather is warm because I must varnish in the uninsulated garage instead of in my tiny home.  Fruit is ripe and jam must be made when the time is right.  It waits on no sewing project.  I generally sew every day for 2-3 hours, but have not been able to do that for the last couple of weeks, let alone blog.  I had a visitor from Scotland so we hiked and he chiseled a crack in two of my genealogical brick walls.  Had to work on those of course.

Lastly, the sewing of my Phoenix bird hit a snag.  Do you ever make a quilt that goes perfectly from start to finish?  Grrrr!  I don't.

TIP:  Start your quilting in the middle even if the sandwich is well secured.

The bird itself turned out great.  I started on its belly in the center and worked the wings out from there.  When I got down to the tail feathers, I got so excited to work on them that I just simply didn't think it through and began with the outside feathers and worked in.  Thread painting is so dense that it redistrubutes fabric as it fills.  Here is what I got:

Extra fabric arising like the Himalayas 

All kinds of mountainous rumples arose within the confines of the feathers.  What to do?  The fire helped a little, but the photo shows it unfinished because I thought I had better bulldoze the hills first in case I had to rip out the flames.  I tried McTavishing, but it wasn't enough so I took it out and settled for small pebbles with a curlique in the center hoping that lots of stitches would eat up the extra fabric.  They did as you can see below:

Heavy quilting black on black - click to enlarge.

Mostly that did the trick, but the area does not lay perfectly flat.  I think and pray that I can flatten it during the blocking process.  If not, it will still be a nice quilt, but not show fodder.  If not, I will consider it part of a heavy duty lesson in thread painting.

TIP:  All is not lost, ever.  It is all in how you look at it and whether or not you learn from your mistakes.  After all, it is just a quilt.  Your life cannot be ruined by a quilting error.  Your psyche may get temporarily dampened, so take a break, take a hike, make some jam, clean up the sewing room.......

As I write, I know I have more extra fabric to contain, but it is getting better as I work it out.  The fires are complete so I continue with black on black pebbles that take a magnifying glass to see what I am doing.

Sew a happy seam this week.

The Phoenix has Wings

I have a brand new sewing machine.  I got a Baby Lock "Aria," and am loving it.  It is a European-made machine and has a few quirks that are a bit different from my old Viking, but they are minor adjustments.  I will continue to learn as I do different types of sewing on my quilts.  Why did I turn in my Viking for a Baby Lock?
*Viking sewing machine company has been sold and the quality has plummeted.
*My local Bernina dealer didn't seem particularly interested in trying to sell me a machine.
*My trusted sewing machine dealer and repairman tells me the Baby Lock is the best on the market.
*I checked reviews on the Web and they were all positive.
*My repairman has always given me outstanding service and advice, and he and his wife give me personal attention when needed.  I am sure that will continue.  In fact it has!
*I got a trade-in deal so saved significant dollars.

One of the first things I did with my new machine was to break a needle and it bent the needle threader so my new baby was in the shop within the first week.  I blame pilot error, but am also finding that the "touch" is a little different and we are still getting used to each other.  It is like a piano - no two feel exactly the same when you sit down to play.

As I get acquainted with the technical aspects of my new equipment I have been thread painting the wings of my Phoenix and the new machine does a great job.  As I have mentioned before, this is a new process for me and my early experimentation and practice have paid off.  Now that I have some of the bird completed, there is a great article in Machine Quilters Unlimited on stabilizers for thread painting and the way three different people put the layers together.  Murphy's Law - I wish I had seen that article before I started.

Phoenix Wing

I am using Isacord thread on top and Superior's Bottom Line in the bobbin, and it is a good combination.  Isacord thread has a sheen to it that is just beautiful.  Each feather is sewn with lines coming out at an angle from a center spoke - kind of like quilted feathers, but straight lines like real bird feathers.  I discovered that in a certain light the same color thread going at one angle looks like a different shade when going at the opposite angle (you can't see that effect in the photo).  It is very interesting and changes with the light and its direction.  These lines are done with a zig-zag stitch by moving the quilt back and forth.  It fills more quickly than a regular stitch and I like the way it looks.   After sewing the directional lines, I changed thread color and stitched the spoke over the top.

What are those lines of white stitching?  I originally used safety pins to secure the quilt sandwich, which consists of top, two layers of stabilizer, batting, and backing.  Once pinned I stitched an approximately 4 inch grid over the whole quilt with Vanish water soluble thread from Superior...then removed the pins.  I knew the stitching would be intense and would cause rippling around the bird so I didn't want to mess with pins.  You can see the ruffles in background, but they will submit nicely under the control of background quilting.

I did the under-tummy feathers a little differently.

Under-tummy feathers.

I used a free motion zig-zag stitch here too, but made the stitches stay in zig-zags instead of stretching them into lines.  I didn't cover the fabric as heavily so the color variety would show through.  Click on the photo to see the stitches better.  The deliberate result is a rougher, more ragged look for these small one inch feathers.

Stop back next week and I will explain why I have had to stop work on my Phoenix bird temporarily.

Sew many happy stitches this week.

Lighting the Fabric on Fire

I have been working on my phoenix quilt and am very pleased with the way the bird turned out.  It is now fused to the background, but I won't do the thread painting until I have the quilt sandwiched for quilting.  Time to move on.

I need to thread paint some fire below the bird.  Since I have never thread painted before, I have been doing a lot of experimenting.  I bought my thread and figured out what looks best for the feathers of the bird, but the fire left me scratching my head.

Tester:  Thread painting on two of the tail feathers.

How am I going to create the translucency and flicker that we all know and love?  How do you go about researching something like that?  There are books on thread painting, but none about setting fabric on fire.  Leah Day burned one of her quilts that was full of quilted words stating negative thoughts, but that's not what I have in mind!  My bird must fly out of the fire into freedom.

First I cut pieces that were the general shape of those in the artwork I am using as a guide, but discovered a major disconnect.  Two tries and I decided the pieces were too solid-looking to ever translate as fire on a quilt even though the original drawing is fantastic.

My next step was to hunt on the Internet and guess what?  I found some great thread paintings of fire here (scroll down to 12 Jan 2008) and here.  Lots of great ideas to look at, but I still felt insecure.

Next on my list was to pull up pictures of real fire on Google images.  Bingo!  Even more ideas emerged by looking at what fire actually looks like.  Isn't that amazing?  It is so familiar, but I couldn't figure out how I was going to make it look right until I saw images of actual flames.

My first attempt:

I have fire!

I need more practice, but am beginning to feel more comfortable as ideas materialize out of the smoke.  I want it a bit less stylistic and less confined.  I'll get there!

TIP:  Practice makes better, and better, and better.  Go for it.  Just because you don't how doesn't mean you can't learn with a little research and a lot of practice.

I don't know who wrote this, but it is apropos to us quilters:

Toil awhile.

Endure awhile.

Believe always.

Never turn back.

Happy stitching this week.

Learning Curve Continues

Learning thread painting is throwing me some curves.  It is not the stitching that is the challenge, but rather the planning and not knowing precisely what awaits beyond the next corner.  Last week you read about the things I was learning from my tester piece.  See "Looking Ahead, Stuck Behind"  Now I will write about some other things that have popped up.

Here is the very messed up tester.  Be aware that some experimentation remains as I do not have any thread yet.  With two quilts to block and bind, my pretty bird sits grounded for a short time.   You can refer to this photo as you read the rest of my ramblings.

Phoenix Tester

Layering

Layering the fabric properly on this project is counterintuitive.  It is best to lay down the light colored fabrics first and place dark fabrics over them to avoid a shadow under the light fabric, but the dark feathers on my bird look like they should be behind the lighter fabrics.   This scrambles my brain!  In order to counteract reality I need to paint some shadows onto my fabric to make the darker fabric, which is on top, recede into the back.  Thread painting with darker thread in the shadows will add to the effect, but I didn't have any appropriate thread to play with.  I tried black, but it is way too harsh.  No surprise there.  Outline stitching appropriately laid down may help too.

Fabric Paint

*Tsukineko Ink.  I didn't try this because it comes on pretty strong and I have a limited number of colors.
*Copic Pen.  This bled onto the lighter fabric and didn't show up enough on the darker one.  I also have a limited number of colors.
*Inktense Pencil. I put a little fabric medium on a brush, picked up color from the end of the pencil, and scrubbed it into the fabric with a small brush.  I have 36 colors to choose from to coordinate with my fabrics.  Voila!  This is it.

Thread choice  

Should I use cotton or polyester?  I tried both from my thread stash.  Isacord polyester is the clear winner.  I love the sheen it gives the feathers of the bird.  I will use silk for the background quilting because it buries itself in the thickness of the quilt.   I will also try some variegated threads because my research indicates that they provide additional interest.  I ruled out rayon because it is not as sturdy as the polyester.

Quilting (doesn't appear to show up very well on the tester photo) 

Normally I don't worry much about my quilting ahead of time although it does bang around in my head as I work.  However, on this project I have thought a lot about how to quilt the painted background so I tried some of my ideas.  When I looked at the results I realized that there was way too much interest and texture.  The problem is that the bird will be very flat after all the thread painting and I don't want the background to cause visual interference.  My new decision is to do McTavishing with champagne-color, silk thread.  This will tame the beast and still look really nice, maybe a little like smoke from the fire below the bird.  It will allow the bird to fly.

Markers

I am painting the background first and wanted to see how the purple air marker and the blue water soluble markers work with the Intense pencils.  I colored with the pencils and fabric medium, heat set the color and marked with both kinds of markers.  No problem.  They disappeared as advertised.

Next, I laid down the blue marker and then colored over it with Inktense pencil and medium.  Wow, the blue marker disappeared.  The fabric medium is water soluble so that makes sense.  The next morning all had dried and the blue marker line was still gone.  I decided to see what happened when I heat set.  Oops!  The blue marker returned as a ghost line.

I used a Lumocolor permanent marker by Staedtler for the red triangular lines.  When I sprayed water on the blue marker lines (see above) they disappeared, but the red lines ran all over the place where they got wet.  How fortunate that I found this out now!  I then tried out a red Micron pen and it worked fine.  I soaked it with water and no bleeding.

I want the painted background to stop just barely under the bird and that is why the concern about markers.  I ended up marking the fabric 1/8 inch inside the borders of the bird lightly with regular pencil.  Those lines will ultimately be covered up by the bird.  Problem solved.  I hope I can see the pencil lines when the time comes, but if not, I will use a light box and the full-size pattern as a guide.

Enjoy your sewing this week.

Looking Ahead, Stuck Behind

Now I am in limbo.  I am quilting my quilt with Kimono Silk thread from Superior, which is lovely thread and nice to work with.  The downside is that I have to order it online.  I ran out of the thread for my border three inches from the end of the last side, on the final side of a feather.  So my quilt sits sullenly on my sewing table waiting for the thread to arrive for the five minute finish.  What is a girl to do but start a new project?  I am a "finisher," but never averse to a fresh start when circumstances dictate.

The new project is a Phoenix that I adapted from the beautiful artwork of my 15 year old granddaughter, with her permission.  She had decorated her father's iPad with it so I took a photo, made some minor changes so I can sew it, enlarged it and have admired it basking in it's own paper glow on the sewing room bed.  With a 20% rewards discount and a $20 gift card I spent an hour in the candy - I mean quilt store and bought my fabric for about half price.  What a deal, and I am so eager to get started.

What am I going to do?  I am going full bore into thread painting this gorgeous red bird.  I have never done any serious thread painting so I am using the pattern of one wing only to experiment with the process.  Am I the only one who starts a new technique running instead of walking?  Wish me luck!

First I used my new Inktense pencils to "paint" the background as in the original artwork.  I will fuse the Phoenix onto this background and then thread paint.  The bird is made up of many feathers, which I will cut from batiks and fuse to the background.

Here is the process as suggested by Lea McComas:

Trace a line pattern on freezer paper from the full-sized, printed design marking with little red arrows where extra fabric will be cut to fit under the adjacent piece.  The color of the fabric to be used is noted on the pattern piece.

Full-sized pattern (color at 50%) with line drawing on top.  This will not be cut.

Cut the freezer paper pattern apart on the drawn lines (sorry no photo before I cut it apart).

Iron fusible material to the back of the fabric.  I use Soft Fuse, but I hear Misty Fuse is excellent too.  Press the freezer paper patterns to the right side of the appropriate fabrics and cut them out.  I love this method as you don't have to remember to reverse the pattern as you would do if you were marking the fusible itself.  That would drive me nuts on a complex piece like this.

Left: front side with freezer paper patterns. Right:  fusible material on the back side of fabric.

Pattern piece cut with extra fabric as needed to go under another piece.  See the red arrows?

Lay the uncut line pattern on a light table and tape it down securely.  Cover it with a teflon sheet (you can see through it) and arrange the pieces on it.  Carefully lay another teflon sheet on top of the arranged pieces to protect your iron from errant fusible gunk.  Iron it all together, let cool, and lift the fused fabric off the teflon in one solid piece to the background fabric.  Iron to the background fabric.

Test piece for practice.

Create a quilt sandwich so you can test the quilting process and threads.

This small piece (12 x 18 in) is strictly for testing, but it has taught me a lot already.  It consists of one full-sized wing of the bird on a full-sized example of the background.  I will use pencil to lightly mark the outlines of some of the feathers and thread painting will blend and shade colors as needed.  What did I learn so far?

1.  I need to make the line drawing twice on freezer paper with all the markings.  One will serve as reference and the other will be cut apart.

2.  This is an insane puzzle so I need to number each little pattern piece to avoid spending so much time trying to figure out where the pieces go.  They don't look the same when the extra fabric is included on some sides, but not all.

3.  I need to allow for better gradations of color from light gold to red.  These fabrics are from my stash and are not the ones I will use for the real quilt.  Some are woven and some are batik.  I have some really luscious, blendable batiks, but I didn't want to use them up on the tester.  I also wanted to see how woven fabrics work with the thread painting.

4.  I don't want the background to show through any fabric (see the yellow on the right).  I need to use a darker fabric, or line the light fabric, or not paint the background where the bird will fly.  The latter is my choice.

The next part of the project is to try my hand at thread painting.  I also want to see how my fabric markers work on the painted background, but now my blue, silk  thread has arrived and I must finish my other quilt.  I'll come back to the Phoenix while the other quilt dries on the blocking board.

TIP:  Take the time to test if there is any uncertainty of the results.  It is well worth the time it takes, as you can see.  A little extra practice is never wasted.

Stay tuned to find out what other challenges surface with the tester that have to be addressed before making the quilt.

Extras for "Columbine"

I tried some new (to me) techniques on my Columbine quilt.  The first of these was machine trapunto.  Trapunto means "stuffed" and it used to be done by stuffing wee bits of fluff between the fibers of the fabric into a defined area.  I did mine the modern way by pinning pieces of wool batting behind the petals of the flowers (no backing) and temporarily quilting around the petals with water soluble thread.  You must use the water soluble thread in the top spool, but can use soluble or regular thread in the bobbin.  I prefer soluble in both top and bottom.  I left the leaves flat because I wanted them to stay in the background.

TIP:  Do not iron water soluble thread.  It melts, solidifies and breaks apart in teenie, stiff pieces that all have to be picked out because they are visible.  Ask me how I know!

When all the petals are quilted, turn the quilt over and very carefully cut away the excess batting close to the stitching around the petals.  I use sharp embroidery scissors.  You can use sharp, blunt-tip scissors, but I find I can't get into tight corners with them.  Relax and work slowly to avoid cutting the quilt top.

TIP:  You have been so careful, but you accidentally cut your quilt top.  Grrrr!  I have done it, but it can be repaired if it is not too bad.  You can place some fusible web or Bo Nash Bonding Powder over the back side of the slit, cover it with a small piece of fabric to match the cut place, and fuse it closed.  Steer clear of the soluble thread with the iron or unstitch a few of those soluble stitches if necessary.  Then mark the area with a safety pin so that when you do the background quilting you can find the spot in order to quilt over it enough to hide the goof and stitch it down securely.

My next venture into the unknown was to paint the blue areas at the center of the white petals.  I don't remember what kind of paint I used, but it didn't do a thing for my columbine.  It didn't hurt them either, thank goodness.  Then I decided to try thread painting based on a meager bit of knowledge I had picked up from a U-tube tutorial.  That worked and I was so pleased with the results that I did the yellow centers with thread as well, right over the trapunto batting.  The unexpected result was that it flattened the centers of the flowers and made the bulk of the petals really poof out.  Awesome dimension!  The photo doesn't show the depth very well so you will have to use a little imagination.

Detail of trapunto, thread painting, quilting and binding.

TIP:  Some quilters like to starch their fabric before quilting, but don't bother if you have used water soluble thread.  Guess what:  it dissolves in starch too!  Those soluble stitches are your guidelines for the final quilting.  Three guesses where I learned that!

When all the excess batting has been trimmed away it is time put the usual quilting sandwich together and quilt the quilt.  You will have two layers of batting where the trapunto is and that makes those flower petals really stand out.  Nice!  Stitch around all the appliqué first, then fill in the rest.  I used stacked pancakes as filler in the center around the bouquet.  In the outer border I used small feathers and some columbine-like flowers.  Lastly I soaked the quilt to clean it and get rid of the soluble thread before binding.

For the binding I used Ricky Tims' method of applying it with piping and entirely by machine.  The only place to learn how to do this is on his "Grand Finale" DVD, but it is well worth the $22 as he covers all aspects of finishing a quilt including the binding.  I was pleased with the results although I used the same color piping as in the outer border so it is not showy...by design.

TIP:  Explore, experiment, stretch your mind and build your arsenal of techniques.  You get better with every quilt.

Here is the finished quilt. It won a "Meritorious" award at the Quilt Colorado Show.

Finished "Columbine"

(Caveat:  the color looks dull on the website, but it is really quite vibrant and true blue.)