Arise

I just did a crazy quiz on Facebook about what mythical creature you are most like.  It determined that I am a Phoenix.  How appropos!  The quiz was run by magicquiz.com and gives the definition of a phoenix as, "Associated with hope, immortality, and regeneration, a phoenix rises from the flames to become an even better version of themselves" (no attribution).  This is a perfect description of my quilt that has spent its days skirting disaster.

I have never had a quilt that posed so many difficulties or plans gone awry in spite of careful thought beforehand.  If I can get the rest of the quilting done without problems, it will definitely be a better version of my original plan.  My granddaughter's design is beautiful, but the problems arose in creating a workable version of her drawing in fabric.

The latest is the decision to quilt the "ground" or bottom third of the quilt with navy on three different dark fabrics.  Looks great with magnifying glasses and bright light.  Doesn't show up with normal vision.  Doesn't do a thing for the quilt.  Makes the fires look like they are floating in space.  The best laid plans have gone awry again.

I bravely fooled around with some quilting using red Isacord thread. The McTavishing makes me think of hot coals.  I like it.  Out came the ripper and I un-quilted some (not all) of the navy stitches.  The redo in red around the flames is very satisfying.  I love it.  Note the difference between the red quilting in the center and the navy quilting in the lower left.  The red truly provides visual clues that the bird is rising out of the fire, but doesn't take away from the brilliance of the Phoenix.  It warms the dark fabric so it blends nicely in color and temperature with the rest of the quilt.

Red McTavishing

 Maybe I will get this project done after all.

TIP:  What can I say?  Persist like the Phoenix.  Perfection is an almost unattainable goal, but there is nothing wrong with striving toward it.  Just don't wear out your fabric!

Sew a happy seam today.

Getting Scorched or Stitching Fire

Brain dead this week.  Finishing a quilt always seems to take forever and the Phoenix is living up to its reputation.  It is having an awfully hard time rising out of those ashes.  Under the bird in the lower third of the quilt I have set several small fires.  When I looked at them I had to ask myself, "How many fires have you seen that have a round bottom and look like a rootless tree?"  I went on to other parts of the quilting, but those red and yellow "trees" remained on the periphery and I had to wonder what they were doing there.  Scorched!

Out came my most useful tool...

Seam Ripper

...and off I went reverse sewing the faux fire thread painting. Fortunately all the sewing had been done with a straight stitch and it was easy to slip the ripper under several threads and cut them at the same time.  It took time, but the two main campfires are out, one has been replaced (and looks soooooooo much better).  I don't know yet whether I will redo one more, but we'll see.  I am only redoing one at a time.

I found an interesting way to arrange flames so they look like a fire:

Potential fire

I cut several pieces of freezer paper of variable sizes and graceful shapes, freehand with paper scissors, and laid them on the quilt top until I liked the way they looked.  This example was done quickly for the camera and is not the final arrangement.  The pieces could be ironed down, but I choose not to do that because there is water soluble thread on the back and I don't want to heat it as it seems to lose its solubility.  Note to self:  I need to run an experiment on that.  Anyhow, I will pin my design down loosely and draw around it with my Sew-line white marker.  Then I will stitch the outline with red thread and get busy filling it with thread painting.

I know now that it was worth the hours of ripping to get it right.

TIP:  Sometimes you have to go backwards in order go forward.  If there is a boulder in the trail you may have to retrace your steps to find a way around it.

Sew a happy seam 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.

Success is Good!

Today's post is a quick one to report on progress of the Phoenix bird.  I am thread painting it onto the quilted background, and it is a raging success.  I am so pleased.  It is tedious as I have to change thread color fairly often and must be careful to cover edges without stitching too far away.  I find that after two hours I tend to get careless so I usually stop.  If I don't quit I end up reverse sewing. Since the bird already has batting under it, he sits on top of the background, which also has batting, instead of blending into it.  I like that bit of realism even though his story is a myth.

 I am also fighting an insidious virus with the only symptom being lethargy and fatigue - grrrrrrr!  I think we don't appreciate the joys of high energy until we are laid out by a lowly microbe.  So not much sewing this week...or writing!

Sew a happy seam this week.

Lake Overlook

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.