Monday, June 30, 2014

Gift Runner

Two of my tutees gave me another kit. This time it was a table runner, complete with four inch squares of fabric similar to the fabric choices the designer showed in the accompanying kit photo. In the past I occasionally made quilts for other people with their fabric and/or design choices. This was a similar experience. I would not have picked these colors--I think of them as "West Elm" colors. Anyway, while I was waiting for a fabric delivery from an online purchase, and before I got tired of waiting and started the restoration project (hence my nickname of Zappelphillip), I made this table runner from the kit.

It is called "Tiny Town Tablerunner," from Hatched and Patched, an Australian company. It is not my style at all, doesn't go with my house or decor at all. That's not the poor runner's fault but I have no use for this now that I have made it. I don't encourage my students to bring gifts precisely for this reason. Someone showed up at my door last week with one of those supermarket orchids. I gave it to my son. I will probably give this away as a wedding present.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Working on a Restoration Project

Quite a while ago I posted a photo of an antique block that I had acquired, one of a small group of identical blocks, that I hoped to do something with. Part of the delay in dealing with these blocks came from other projects being in the queue first and part came from indecision about just what I wanted to do with them. The fabric of the applique on the blocks was in pretty good shape, but their muslin backing was badly discolored and very worn. The indigo dye used in the printed fabric didn't really match or even come that close to modern blues and the blocks themselves were in need of attention. The person who cut the blocks apart used a rotary cutter and wasn't that careful about preserving the points on some of the design elements.

But after this long delay, I have been working on the blocks for a couple of days. I have carefully unpicked the stitches on the points so they can be repointed and I have begun the process of re-appliqueing the oak leaf and reel elements to new muslin.
This is a block in more or less untouched condition. I have picked out the stitches right at the tips of the pointed reel sections but otherwise this block is as it arrived to me.
This is a block during the process of re-applying it to new fabric. Even though the indigo fabric is in fairly decent shape, it is still about 140 years old or more so I have left the original muslin behind the fabric and am turning under a small margin of muslin to form the new edge of the applique. Some of the blocks were also very "wonky", seriously out of symmetry and unbalanced so I have repositioned those elements (carefully) to make the block more straight and true.
The lighting was different but the fabric and color are the same nevertheless. This is the one block I have completed the process on. Although I have straightened some of the elements on some of the blocks, I have left other blocks, with all their imperfections, alone. So while this block is by no means entirely perfect and symmetrical, it isn't so far out of balance that it looks lopsided. The old points are points again instead of being chopped off. My hope is that the old muslin will help protect the original fabric but obviously this will still be a delicate quilt. My plan is to add sashing, probably Flying Geese, in coordinating colors from the Mill Girls line, and then an applique border of oak leaves and acorns in the same fabrics. It won't be elaborate, more focused on the plain strength of the oak leaves.



Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Wild Girl

A few years ago I bought this kit to make as a gift for my daughter-in-law who owns two horses and rides in dressage competitions. I put off making it because this kind of quiltmaking is outside of my comfort zone. But I finally started, and finished, this small wallhanging, beginning on Sunday and finishing on Tuesday. I don't know that I will ever be inspired to make one of these types of quilts again, but the finished product turned out reasonably well. The kit comes complete with all the fabrics except the backing and has complete instructions though reading the instructions on your fusible webbing is also recommended. It's best not to lay out the pieces with your cats in the room too.

The quilt kit  is called "Wild Girl", by Toni Whitney, from the Bigfork Bay Cotton Company.



Sunday, June 15, 2014

Electronic Advantages

I still mourn the closing of my favorite local quilt store though I am probably part of the problem. As with the publishing industry and hard copy books versus e-books, so it is with fabric stores. Recently I was looking at a Romanian quilter's blog site and discovered that she and I use the same electronic quilt store, eQuilter.com. That's good for her since quilting fabrics are hard to find in Romania, but it isn't good for my local stores. The variety of fabrics and patterns available has probably never been bigger but there is nothing like walking in to a quilt store and seeing bolts of fabrics lined up and patrons walking around. Sometimes it is hard to tell from the thumbnails online just how big the pattern is and you can never tell what the fabric feels like--a prime concern for hand applique. As with books I want both experiences.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Spring Splendor Complete (With Picture)

Yesterday I finished my current project. As usual I learned a great deal about various things, some of which I expected to learn and others that were a surprise. As you can see in the photo, the trapunto elements turned out well for the most part--the upper right square doesn't have the "puff" that it should but the design on the square is very small consisting of one leaf and some vines. I might try working some yarn in through the back or I may just leave it. The colors are pleasing to me and the basic idea is all right but overall there is something just slightly off about the applique. I still like it but there is a stiffness that I did not intend.

The fabrics are primarily batiks, the natural variations in the dye colors work well for flowers and leaves, with some solids and small printed fabrics added here and there. The small white flowers are dimensional, gathered at the bottom and puffy toward the top. The quilt is about 34 inches by 42 inches. If you compare the finished quilt to the first photos posted during the layering process, you can see that all the quilting made it hang very nicely, straight as a board.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Trapunto and Quilting Coming Along

If you machine quilt you won't understand what I am describing, but here is the quilt in progress. The center trapunto section is nearly done with only the upper left corner in this photo unquilted. Each of the smaller squares is about six inches on a side and takes about four hours to quilt by hand. I have started on the outer floral border as well, with outline quilting around each element and random stippling in the black background. The flowers and leaves have quilting to emphasize them, too.

Above are two views of the back of the quilt. The upper one shows a corner and some of the quilting in the black border. The lower one is the entire piece as quilted so far. This is going to be very dense when it is complete but progress is pretty slow since the stippling and the details take a long time. You can tell from the front that I am not a stickler for exact mirror images. Perhaps if I made a quilt where duplication exactly was important I would pay more attention but most bouquets I have seen are not identical twins so none of my baskets are identical either. I cannot tell as yet if the motifs are stuffed enough. If they need a little more then I will work some yarn in from the back.