Onward

The quilting is done.  What a letdown and yet a relief.  Now I need to block it.  Not my favorite activity.  I keep my styrofoam blocking board in our detached garage, which keeps it in good shape and out of the way.  Unfortunately, the mountains have been full of tremendous winds in the last week and trying bring the board into the house would be insane.  Meanwhile that project is on hold until DH can bring board in.

I started redoing my picture of our dog Dixie.  You can read what happened to that project several months ago here.  After looking at the little quilt for all this time and still loving it, I finally decided what to do.  It came together so well first time around that I really didn't want to start over.  So...I cut the dog off the quilt, trimmed it carefully, and then painted the edges with Inktense pencil and medium.  A tiny bit of batting showed only on the cut edge because I had already quilted it.  I heat set the color by ironing the edges.  So, it is ready to thread paint onto a new, quilted background.

The background pieces were fixed to muslin (as the dog is), but I had to do that part over because the fusible gummed up my needle so badly.  I managed to quilt the dog in spite of the problems.  I decided to use a new technique developed by Lara Bucella, which she writes about in her book, "Crafted Appliqué - New Possibilities."

TIP:  Get her book to get complete directions.

Instead of using fusible web she uses Modpodge to adhere fabric to fabric.  I remember using that for decoupage many years ago.  Today Joann's carries a large variety of Modpodge glues.  You paint the Modpodge onto the back of the fabric and let it dry (an hour or so).  Make sure it doesn't soak through to the front.  I lay it all on a garbage bag to protect the surface of my table.  Use a light hand with a foam brush, which can be washed clean and used again.  When dry, cut your pieces and iron them onto a fabric background.  One of the real benefits is that the edges stay sharp - no fraying - beautiful!

There are several labels on Modpodge, so what is the right one to use?

**"Fabric" (blue label):  Treated fabric pieces cling to the background fabric in the planning stage.  They will not stay forever even when ironed so you need to stitch the pieces down when you have them where you want them.

**"Gloss" (red label):  When ironed it will stick tight.  I used this today and found that I could gently, but firmly pull it off if necessary, but it does iron on pretty securely.  I will still quilt it later.  It has about the same stiffness as fusible web.  It is supposed to wash well, but I haven't tried that yet.

Supplies for Modpodge fusing.

The author says that freezer paper patterns will gently adhere to the back of the Gloss treated fabric, but I had no success with that.  Those patterns have to be reversed.  What I did discover is that I could cut the freezer paper pattern right side up.  Set the treated fabric on a non-fabric pressing cloth (silicone or teflon) right side up, glue side down, and lightly iron the freezer paper to the right side of the fabric.  It stays put long enough to cut the pattern.  None of this turning yourself inside out trying to get your brain around backwards patterns.  The pieces are cut about 1/16 inch larger than the pattern so adjoining pieces will overlap and iron on to each other.  I ironed the pieces together on the silicone sheet and was able to lift them up as a unit ready to place on the muslin background.

Treated fabric on pressing cloth with pattern underneath.  It all sits on my light table.

TIP:  If you are following a special design or pattern, place a copy of that design under the pressing sheet (hopefully you have one that you can see through) so you can see where to put the cut pieces before ironing.  I set it up on my light table so I could see the design lines better.

Stay tuned for the rest of the story.  I have to stop now to block the other quilt!

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish you a new adventure - try something different.

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.

Return to Quilting

I am back after two wonderful weeks in Seattle for Christmas with family.  I love driving across the empty, snowy landscape.  It is always beautiful and reminds me of a quilt thrown across the hills like a freshly made bed.  I am home and eager to quilt, but must first clear and clean the house, write thank you notes and compose my annual letter.  January promises to be a very busy month.

My Christmas gifts included a set of 36 Derwent's Inktense pencils, which I have been dreaming of for months.  See Sherry Rogers-Harrison's website, which features some of her quilts on her Home page.  She does gorgeous quilting and then "paints" the designs with these pencils.  I am intrigued and can't wait to get started.

My other quilting-related acquisition is a design that my 15 year old granddaughter drew to decorate her father's iPad.  It is a stunning phoenix surrounded by zentangle-type patterns that will translate well into patchwork and quilting.  This very talented, young artist gave me permission to use it, and I have already translated it into quilt language.  I am eager to start, but have a lot of work to finish my current WIP.  Sometimes it is hard to be patient, but I find that creative ideas and sewing solutions present themselves better if I give them time to percolate through my brain.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.  I wish you lots of quilting fun.