Designing Quilting Motifs

I finished the top!!!  When I got it all together I just slumped.  We have been without sewage disposal for three weeks now.  The septic field has failed.  The pipes have dislocated. As I write we are scheduled to hook into the city system, but the plumbers were supposed to hook us up last Wednesday - no show.  Then Friday - still couldn't do it.  Now it should happen Monday.  We finally let them set us up for three nights in a local hotel.  In some ways it is hard to be creative, but I find that it takes my mind off the presently unsettling vagaries of life.

Update:  As I am getting ready to post this they have just delivered the big digging machine so they must be planning the job today.  YEA!

I have been having fun designing the quilting for the finished top.  It does not lend itself to gorgeous, united quilting motifs like Margaret Solomon Gunn creates.  I am a great admirer of hers, if you haven't figured that out yet.  My quilt is an interlocking mosaic of color with lots of different inner designs to look at.  The more you look, the more you find.....almost an "I Spy" quilt.  I pondered the process of designing while I stitched, and have previewed lots of ideas.  No space for fluffy feathers nor would they complement the design.  I have looked at Pinterest, Google Images, books, and magazines.  These ideas get jumbled and have to be sorted out to maintain some sort of continuity throughout the quilt, and I am doing that with pencil and eraser.  I will quilt this to death.  

The quilt will be about 60 x 60 inches and I couldn't think of any way to manage designing on a full sized piece of paper so I finally printed one quarter of the quilt (all quarters are the same).  I had to break that quarter down into four pieces to print, and then taped them together.  This gave me a 15 inch square mock-up to mess around with.  I covered it with tracing paper and went to work with pencil and eraser.

Tracing paper makes the photo fuzzy.  General ideas in pencil.
(Since I took this photo I have made a lot of changes but you can get the idea of the process.)

TIP:   I love tracing paper.  You can see through it easily.  It is nice to draw on.  Pencil is easily erased when necessary.  You can turn it over to get the reverse pattern.  You can fold it to trace the mirror image of a motif.  You can retrace your lines with pen to show through fabric on a light box for marking said fabric.

Clearly the mock-up above does not deal with the actual sizes I will be quilting.  I am using some of my paper-piecing patterns to work out correct sizes of individual elements.

Actual size designs.  These don't all go together in the same block, but I
was able to determine the size of of the grids and other details.

TIP:  You can use paper clips to hold tracing paper to the pattern paper, but staples are more secure and don't catch on other things or fall off.

The first quilting will be in the ditch.  I will stitch every seam in the ditch before adding decorative elements.  That will take a long time, and I will get very good at it and very tired of it by the time I am done, but it makes the quilt look so nice.  I will then be able to work anywhere I want to without worrying about quilt distortion.  Time to get out to buy batting and backing.

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish you hours of fun designing and creating.

An Old Shoe

I really appreciate all the understanding, empathy and compassion that were expressed in response to my dark week post.  I especially liked the idea of framing Dixie, but then realized that the dog and half the background are already quilted - very poorly.  I just can't keep it, but I will redo it.  In the meantime, since I like the results so much (sans quilting), I will keep the bad one as a guide for a much nicer new one in the future with a different fusible material.  It was fun to do until it came to the quilting, which was truly a nightmare.  My real doggie gave me a sweet, loving lick to let me know it was OK...or maybe she just wanted a taste of my hand lotion.

Meanwhile, "Onward ho!"  What do I mean by "An Old Shoe?"  My mother used that expression to describe a new acquaintance who was able to settle into our life like family we had known forever.  Comfortable.  That is how I feel about the new quilt that I started this week because I am familiar with and enjoy the technique.

My new project has paper pieced spiral elements in it.  So, you say, "What is a spiral quilt?"  A spiral quilt can be made from any and many geometric shape(s) and is sewn like a log cabin block, but is made with triangles instead of rectangles.  I will try to give you a general, but admittedly skimpy idea, but if you want to try it I recommend RaNae Merrill's "Simply Amazing Spiral Quilts."  Her directions are clear and precise, covering the drawing, designing, and sewing.  Her second book, "Magnificent Spiral Mandala Quilts" is also excellent.  I design my spirals on Adobe Illustrator, but they can be drawn on paper with pencil, ruler and eraser.  They are sewed with foundation/paper piecing.

Step 1.  Draw the outline of a shape.  In this case I started with a triangle.

Step 2.  Draw a ring of small triangles inside the outer border, one along each side.  You can measure or make your triangles any size that you like.  I make mine kind of free form as I find the measuring tedious.

Step 3.  Draw another ring of small triangles inside the first ring.  Continue making similar rings until you get to the center.  RaNae Merrill goes into different ways to draw these triangles.  The way I am showing is the easiest to sew.

Step 4.  Fill all those inner triangles with color.

5.  Print or draw your design on paper (I use Sulky Paper Solvey and print it from my computer).

But....that is only one triangle. Let's play with that single triangle:

Now here is what you can do when you combine several geometric shapes into a 60º wedge.  This example is symmetrical, but you can get some interesting designs when you introduce some asymmetry with your shapes:

Symmetrical
60º wedge made with several different shapes.

Then rotate six copies of the wedge around its center point:

Six wedges can make a quilt.

See the wedge?

Now fill with color.  It is full of primary, secondary and tertiary design possibilities.  Talk about an adult coloring book!  There are so many ways to portray this and no one can figure out how you did it!  You can turn your imagination loose and it is not hard to sew one of these, but it takes time and attention to detail.

TIP:  Try a simple design or two this week.  It is fun.

Sew a Happy Seam this week.  I wish you some designing fun.

Who is a Designer?

I read somewhere, but don't remember where, that a designer is a problem solver.  Interesting concept.  I mentioned it my daughter and she noted that designers in all fields are simply problem solvers:  computer techs, architects, landscapers, painters, business people, etc.  Notice to all quilters:   know that you are designers!  Those who sew patterns created by others are designers in the their choice of fabrics and in solving the complications that almost always arise from stitching, fitting, poorly written directions, and on and on.  Isn't that so cool?

I must confess that the mundane tasks that have kept me busy the last two weeks have nothing to do with progress, but everything to do with designing the direction of my seam ripper.  "Again?" you say.  Yes, again.  I thought I was finished quilting, but looked at the fires I was so excited about.  Stepping back I saw what looked like several isolated campfires out on the Sahara desert, unattached, no interconnection.  Besides where did they get the wood?  It made my beautiful Phoenix bird look like he was stuck in space instead of arising from anything.  For two weeks I practiced my ripping skills and took out every stitch of thread-painted flame and McTavishing in the area beneath the bird.  Urgggggh!  I broke one seam ripper that fell on the floor sharp side down and snapped the point off.  The other one came loose from its handle.  Fortunately, all I had to do was twist it back in so it wasn't ruined and I was able to continue my destruction.

I try to test all my designs before sewing, and thought that I had created a workable, beautiful plan.  It failed.  Now I am on my third and last attempt.  I can't rip anymore or the fabric will disintegrate.  Part of designing is figuring out what went wrong so I have analyzed my shortcomings in depth.  The fault lies mainly in the fact that my brain works within a box and I am drawn to photorealism and symmetry.  I have a husband and daughter who wouldn't recognize a brain box if it hit them on the head (called learning disabilities).  As a result they tend to the abstract form of creative thinking.  I never could figure out "abstract."  So, I left my realistic flames and went back to the original drawing where fire is only suggested, not defined.  I cut and spread a few pieces of fire-suggestive fabric on the quilt before I did the ripping and decided that I finally had the final solution.  This is not easy for me, but it is happening.

TIP:  By all means test ideas.  They are more likely to lead to success although there are occasional failures.  Planning is beneficial, but the designer must allow some flexibility in case things don't work out as planned.

After unsewing, it was clear that I had a lot of fabric easing to do so I pinned the affected part of the quilt on a styrofoam board as if blocking it.  I stuck lots of pins in the areas where the fabric resisted flattening.  Then I sprayed it to death with water two or three times, and could almost watch it shrink.  Finally, I took the hair dryer to it in the hope of heat-shrinking it further down to a workable amount of ease.  That did a pretty good job of it, but I decided to nail it down by quilting a grid, black on black.  My wonderful dual feed foot slurps up loose fabric like a desert traveller drinking soup and settled it down ready for the next step.  Now I will fuse and appliqué bits of fabric on top and McTavish the whole thing with red swirlies, going over the grid as well where it shows.  The new pieces of fabric on top will strengthen the weakened areas where I had to rip.

Dual feed foot on a tester scrap showing grid quilting and a tiny bit of fused "flame"
(the red piece is not the fabric I will be using to suggest fire but it will do for testing)

TIP: Heat and moisture work well to get rid of excess fabric.  In those few places that threatened to pleat I used a stylus right in front of the presser foot to force the fabric into submission.  Be careful not to run over the stylus!

Talk about designing.  All that took a lot of problem solving.  The new design has to work because I don't know what else I can do at this point.  At least I won't be quilting until I get the bits of flame-suggesting fabric laid out to my satisfaction.  No more ripping!!!!!

Enjoy designing this week.  I am certainly enjoying it more than reverse sewing.

Freezer Paper - a Modern Miracle

Freezer paper is an old, kitchen product used for wrapping butchered meat for safekeeping and freezing.  When did you last butcher your meat and wrap it?  Never?  Me too!  However, I use it all the time for quilting.  Freezer paper is versatile with a dull side for drawing and a shiny side that will lightly stick to fabric when ironed, it can be reused numerous times, it is easily stored, you can see through it enough to trace, you can run it through your printer, and it is cheap.  Its only drawback is that it doesn't do dishes or clean house.

It is available at the nearest grocery store.  It comes 18 inches wide on a roll 33 1/2 YARDS long for about $6.00.  Template plastic at Joann's is $1.49 for one sheet 18" x 12", so 33 1/2 yards of that would cost over $150.  Did that wake you up?

Freezer Paper

You can use the freezer paper as a pattern.  Just iron the cut piece to the fabric and cut around it.  Remove the paper and iron it onto the next piece of fabric.

Pattern pieces ironed onto fabric.

You can use it as a stencil.  Cut out the design, place on fabric, and paint in the cutout spots.

Homemade stencil (freezer paper was colored in my printer and
ironed onto a second piece of freezer paper to strengthen the stencil).
It was used to paint the dots on the orange fabric.

TIP:  If you want a sturdier pattern or stencil iron two pieces of freezer paper together.  You can iron them shiny sides together.  You can also iron them dull side to shiny side if you want to be able to adhere it to fabric with your iron.

You can use freezer paper to do paper piecing especially if you have wonky shapes with bias to deal with.  You place your fabrics together in the usual way and iron the pattern to the first piece, but instead of sewing through the paper, you fold it back at the seam line, trim the fabric to 1/4 inch for seam allowance,  and sew right beside the fold of the paper.  Press the seam, and then open the paper  and iron it down to the newly stitched piece before folding on the next seam line and adding the next piece of fabric.  (There is no space for a full explanation of this method.  Let me know if you would like me to do a post explaining it in more detail.)

Sewing beside the folded freezer paper.

Finished piece - freezer paper has been lifted off of the top.

Freezer paper is an integral part of paperless paper piecing.  It is used as the critical guide for placing pieces, and as patterns for individual pieces.  See Christy Fincher's website for detailed directions on how to accomplish this fabulous, precise method of piecing.

TIP:  Using freezer paper for paper piecing doesn't work as well for teeny, tiny pieces.  If your design has very small pieces you are better off using a lighter weight paper such as Solvy Water Soluble Stabilizer and the traditional method.

 You can use the paper for designing.  I have done some Rhapsody quilts as taught by Ricky Tims.  As he suggests, I used freezer paper for designing these quilts.  You can draw with pencil and eraser on the dull side, then turn and fold the paper so the dull sides are together.  Using a spoon, or some sort of hard utensil you can scrape over your pencil lines and they will reproduce in reverse on the other side of the folded paper.  Remember doing that as kids?  Magic!  This will produce symmetrical, kaleidoscope-like designs.

You can trace.  If you draw with dark pencil lines or go over your lines with black pen you can trace the design onto another piece of freezer paper.  It is opaque-ish, but darkened lines can still be seen.  I like to use my plexiglass sewing machine table with a light under it as a light box to make it easier to see.  You can also tape the original to a big window and copy it that way.

You can use freezer paper as fabric backing for printing in your household printer.  Cut a letter sized piece of freezer paper, and iron it to the back of fabric.  You can then run it through your printer.  I use this to print the labels that I design for my quilts.  You can also create fabric from photos or your own graphic designs and print them in this manner.

TIP:  Cut your fabric slightly smaller than the freezer paper, iron it down well, and get rid of any loose threads.  You don't want any fabric or threads hanging off the edges of the paper.

Is your freezer paper too small for your project?  Lay one piece of freezer paper shiny side down on the ironing board.  Cut a 1 inch strip of freezer paper and lay it shiny side up under the edge of the large paper leaving 1/2 inch sticking out.  Iron the big piece of paper to the hidden part of the strip.  The shiny sides will be together.  Take a second large piece of freezer paper and butt the edge to the edge of the first piece on top of the remainder of the narrow strip. Iron.  That narrow strip will hold the pieces together as well as any tape on the market and it won't make a mess if you iron over it.  Have you ever ironed over a piece of Scotch tape?  Gulp!

TIP:  Freezer paper shrinks!!  It shrinks slightly in one direction, but it is enough to affect your pattern pieces and mess up the size of your finished product.  Before cutting patterns iron the freezer paper to your ironing board with a dry iron.  Take it up and then iron it once more.  Then mark and cut your pattern.  That is all it takes to preserve pattern precision.

Now go have fun playing with freezer paper, and let me know if you use it in other creative ways.

Stitch some happy seams this week.

Cheerful Dragon

"Cheerful Dragon" is a wonderful name for a dragon. I looked at many websites to find a dragon that wouldn't scare my 8 year old grandson every time he slept under it.  He had seen a quilt I made for his much older half-brother and he wanted one too.  I told him I would make him a quilt, but it would not be the same as his brother's, and asked him what colors he liked.  With his information in mind I searched online for a dragon that would be suitable and found this delightful, smiling creature on a fabric panel.  Then I searched for Chinese characters to incorporate in the design, and asked his Chinese father to approve their meaning, which he did.  Designing was easy as was construction.  I just had to make sure the pieces fit together.  It was fun to do something quick and easy.

This is the only photo I have of this quilt so you will have to pardon the extraneous elements in the background (extra feet, etc.)  As you can see, this quilt became a Christmas gift that year for a happy little boy.

I ran into very few problems constructing this quilt so it was finished quickly and easily.  It mostly entailed careful measuring and cutting. You know the old adage, "Measure twice, cut once."  There is an interesting article about measuring and rulers by Jenny K. Lyon here.  I have read that you should choose one brand of ruler and use it for all your various sizes.  Personally I like the green OmniGrid rulers, and they are available in most quilting outlets.

Hoping that the quilt would be used and loved, I did not spend time with lots of fancy quilting.  The exception is that I quilted all the defining lines of the dragon and stitched every scale on his body.  Around him I quilted straight rays, which originated from the center.  The borders are walking foot straight lines 1/2 inch apart, and I outlined the characters and stippled the red panels around them.  See Leah Day for lots of quilting ideas.

TIP:  You guessed it.  Measure carefully, accurately and often.

TIP:  Stitch in the ditch in all the seams.  This will avoid slippage as you do the decorative quilting and makes it all look so much better.