Uh-oh?

I don't know about the rest of you quilters, but I'm a pre-washer.  That is to say, I make it a habit to wash all new-to-me fabric.  I've done this since I began quilting in the early nineties, and continue to-day in part to pre-shrink cottons, and in part to remove 'sizing' etc. that impairs dyeing.  And...in part because there are still fabrics (especially reds) that tend to run when you least expect it.

Well.  Yesterday I finished The Door Quilt.  Because it was large and had had a great deal of handling, I decided to wash it.  I don't know what possessed me, but I decided to use Synthrapol, even though there were no hand-dyed fabrics in the piece, and all the fabric had been pre-washed.  I think it was because even though I'd followed the directions for setting my inkjet-printed quilt label, I was concerned it might bleed.

Well.  I took the piece out of the washer to find that the hitherto white centre motif was tan (as if it had been lightly tea-dyed)...as was the formerly white background of the label on the back.

Again, I don't know what possessed me; I put it in the dryer!

Needless to say, there was no improvement.

Next, I re-washed it with Bubble Jet Rinse; no change.

And then with Dylon S.O.S. Colour Run. Still no difference.  Zip.  Zero.  Nada. Nothing.

What to do?  This was a special piece, "given" to me as most of my "Spirit" pieces are -- the design, all-of-a-piece, right down to the colours and the quilting.

"You're an artist, aren't you?", I 'heard' in my head.  "Well then, use Gesso."  And so I did.

Here's a photo chronology:

Centre motif detail -- before attaching to background

Quilted back.  Note the large chunk of red-brown across the top!

Originally a white-on-white print, after washing...white-on-tan  :-(

Applying gesso to the motif

Et voila!  "Forever Blessed"* (C) 2013

Forever Blessed* (C) 2013 - Detail

Somehow, I think it was meant to be done this way all along.

From "Uh-oh" to "Oh-h-h-h".

*Title from the lyrics of "For All the Saints".  "IHS" in the centre = Greek for The Name of Jesus; the lyric reads, "Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.  Alleluia."

What's Blessing This Friday?

I was all "up and at 'em" this morning -- laundry, dishes (manual washer in this house!), baking...

Baking?!  That wasn't on the original agenda for today, but this is Day 5 of the first week of an online retreat through Abbey of the Arts, and the music following the written reflection was "Soul Cake" in a rendition done by Sting (yes, you read that correctly!) and I was inspired.

Wikipedia has some interesting information about All Souls' Day, and I managed to find this recipe, which with a bit of added egg and milk (because I couldn't get the dough to form), produced these biscuits:

While doing up the dishes, I took the opportunity to prepare some more fabric for natural dyeing -- this time with a dye bath made from the bark of another of my aging ornamental crab trees:

Left to right: fabric in vinegar/water prep bath; jar of 'bark dye'
empty dye pot.

The fabric in question is a bit of silk haboti, some silk charmeuse, some crinkle cotton, and some white-on-white damask.

After the fabric was simmered in the prep bath for about an hour, I put it into the dye pot with the "bark dye" and heated that up.  It's now simmering merrily away.  On impulse I added some un-prepped wool batting from the stash...and had to add some hot water as there wasn't enough liquid.  Alas, this likely means I've diluted the dye...oh well.  It's just a sampling!  ;-)

Meanwhile back in the sewdio, I'm attaching binding to The Door Quilt.

Binding fabric waiting to be cut

The label has been printed and will be ready to apply when I get to the bottom corner...

Before I get back to work, I'm linking up with Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday...

Have a blessed weekend!

Since You Asked...

Or at least, some of you did...Here's a photo of the fabric and wool batting dyed with autumn windfall (leaves) from one of my ornamental crab-apple trees:

From left: muslin, cotton velveteen, crinkle cotton, wool batting

The batting absorbed the most colour, but I also like the colour and texture of the velveteen and the crinkle cotton.

After straining the leaves from the dye bath, I bundled some of them up and have left them to percolate in my sunny back window, which faces south:

I've decided to leave them indefinitely, poking and turning them over from time to time, rather like basting a slow-cooking pot roast!

iMeanwhile work continues on The Door Quilt.  On Friday and Saturday I worked on the central motif:

First, I created a template using more of that laminate plastic recycled from my daughter's office.  I layered fabric and batting together and cut out the shape on my bedroom floor:

I enhanced the centre quilted motif with a bit of extra padding -- "Trapunto lite", as it were.

Then I quilted the rest of the piece and put it up for audition against the already quilted background:

Central motif ready to apply to background quilt
Finished size of piece: 38" W x 73" long

It fit!  So...I turned the edges under all the way around and pinned it down, ready for hand stitch.  At this point, the blanket stitch in gold metallic thread runs almost all the way around the piece.  If I keep at it this afternoon -- and I intend to -- it'll be finished and ready for trimming (the white centre hangs over the edges of the under-quilt) and binding.

As I stitch I'll be catching up on the WIP Wednesday posts over on The Needle and Thread Nework.  Won't you join me?  :-)

Look for Problems?!

I'd rather play in the leaves!

Until a little earlier this evening, I was part of a free online class that I thought would deepen my knowledge of the design process.  Alas, it was not to be.  The focus of this particular course was on creating designs of "artifacts", which were defined as items (material or conceptual or behavioural) made in order to "fill gaps" -- i.e. to solve "problems".

I knew I was in trouble when one of the assignments for Week #1 was to identify ten (count 'em!) "gaps" in my life -- gaps between what I wanted/needed and what I had.  Well.  I could only come up with three, and of those three, two of them would be easily solved if I just got off my duff and got my act together.  The third one would involve my buying a new coffee maker.  Not going to happen.

I decided that the course, while well-intended and no doubt of value to others, wasn't for me.  I decided instead to turn off, tune out and drop in to my studio.

This involved scratching a late-in-the-season itch to use some of the leaves from my ornamental crab apple trees to do some dyeing.

NOTE: this is my first attempt at natural dyeing and I'm rather lazy/casual when it comes to the dye process -- any dye process!

I began by soaking the leaves for 48 hours in some cool water.  Then I turned on the heat and simmered 'em for a couple of hours.

Leaves soaking in water - old aluminum pot

I strained the leaves off, and returned the 'elixir' to the pot.  Meanwhile, I prepped some fabric (cotton, cotton velvet, muslin) and some wool batting in warm water and vinegar, simmering it for an hour or so.  I then transferred it to the dye bath, added some salt for good measure, and let that whole thing simmer some more.

Muslin on top of wool batting just put into dye bath

Wool batting and muslin floating in dye bath

Once I got a colour I thought I'd like, I took the materials out of the dye bath, rinsed them gently in cool water, and put 'em out in the sun to dry (sorry; no photos at the moment).

I washed out the pots, and put some crab-apple bark in cool water to soak.  The experiments continue...

In betwixt and between, I kept working on The Door Quilt, the foundation of which is now finished, and measures up at 39" W x 74" long.

Door Quilt background laid out on cutting table

What remains?  The creation of the top motif -- quilted separately and appliqued onto the quilted background -- and the binding, label and sleeve.  This afternoon I began the former, using recycled clear laminate plastic to draw the design.  Tomorrow I'll transfer it to fabric, and work on the next step of quilting -- just fabric and batting -- before applying it to the quilted background.

Finishing is so close I can taste it!

Linking up to Nina Marie's Off-the-Wall Friday, in which she discusses 'Bucket Lists', after a fashion.  I won't admit to having such a list in any formal sense, either, but God willing, in the next few years -- before I turn 70 -- I'll visit Scotland again, and make it back "home" for the 40th anniversary of my graduation from McGill.  I'd also like to get to the LaConner Quilt Festival, to take a course at Asilomar and/or Alegre, and maybe brave the crowds at the IQF in Houston and one of the major fibre festivals (like Rhinebeck or the KR knitting retreat)...

One day at a time..."For I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep..." (Robert Frost).

Working Away

I've made a vow to look at my work week this way:

• Sunday (Sabbath) and Monday: off;
• Tuesday - Wednesday: in the Sewdio;
• Thursday: at The Crafty Lady in Lacombe: and
• Friday-Saturday: in the Sewdio.

Still and all, some days it feels as though I'm wading through molasses!

On my "at home" days (T-W, F-S) I also build in a 30-120 minute jog...just to keep the body trim enough to keep goin'!  And then there's preparing/doing blog posts...and homework for my online classes...

Classes?!  Yes..indeed-y!  This "semester" I've signed up for three:

1. Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society - with Prof. Karl T. Ulrich at U. Pennsylvania, via Coursera -- which is tuition free -- and which is guaranteed to stretch and expand the brain of the "Artiste"!
2. Honouring Saints and Ancestors: An Online Retreat for the Season of Remembrance; and
3. Birthing the Holy: A Celtic Spirituality Online Retreat for Advent.

My current routine is thus: 

Julie

• Up for Morning Pages and prayer/devotions by 6 a.m.;
• Online again after breakfast by 9 a.m. Julie Nasrallah and "Tempo" in the background;  
• Break for lunch and a walk to the Post Office;

• Into the Sewdio in the p.m., generally listenint to my fave,

  

  Tom

  Tom Allen;

• Break sometime between 4 and 5 p.m. to go for a jog.
• Eat dinner.
• Catch up with correspondence and post online as needed in the early evening (like, now!)...

Tim

Then to bed with a hot drink (coffee) and a book and some jazz (CBC's Tonic, with Tim Tamashiro) by 9 p.m.

What's not to love?  

I agree; it's the Perfect Life...but that doesn't mean I get away without giving myself a Good Swift Kick every once in a while!

Like I said above...sometimes I feel like I'm wading through molasses!  I know what I need to do.  I know what I want to do.  BUT...

Therein lies the rub -- and St. Paul:

For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do... (Romans 7:15, NIV)

The last couple of days I've been prodding myself to do what I NEED to do...and I've managed to make headway!  

I'm working on The Door Quilt.  All of the panels have been pieced and quilted.  The top two (one red, one blue) are together.  The bottom two (both green) are together.  Each section has been quilted (Praise the Lord and thanks for Ann Petersen!)  Once again I have turned to my Craftsy class, "Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine".  I followed a combination of "Split Batting" and "Splitting the Top" and came out a winner!

The process involved seaming the two back sections together, and trimming the batting so that the two would meet up:

Butt the batting together and stitch with a wide herringbone

Overlap the backing; fold in 1/4"; press; pin; blind hem.

Now that all of the background (top and bottom sections) is assembled...the central motif must be drawn out and applied.  Trapunto is involved, as is separate quilting...and then applique.

Some may think that "Advent" was my most ambitious piece, involving (as it did) Jude's wonderful boro weaving/stitching technique.  But no...This one has required even more thought/care/time...So...please be patient and please...

Stay tuned!

"Advent" - (C) GMB

P.S. I am linking up to WIP Wednesday on The Needle and Thread Network...even if this work extends beyond Wednesday...

WiP-ing Right Along

After a couple of "blue" days wherein I kept plugging along in the studio by sheer force of will (mine and the Good Lord's!), I seem to have surfaced into a groove.

I attribute that in part to a 2-hour jog yesterday which cleared my head in more ways than one.  And I attribute it in part to the fact that once you begin, and you see progress, you can't help but keep going!

Yesterday I quilted the red/blue panel from The Door Quilt, and appliqued the first couple of stems on "Posh Poppies".  Accomplishing those two things built up a head of steam that's carried over to today and will continue tomorrow.

As of about 1/2 hour ago, the first green panel of TDQ is quilted too:

I'd have started on the second green panel if I'd not run out of batting.  After quilting the first two panels, what remained was just a bit too narrow to work for the last one.  I could piece it but the nature of this piece is such that I don't want to.  Not a problem; the remnant will be used in other projects -- and there's no shortage of those!

And as of this morning, more leaves have been pinned to the background of "Posh Poppies", just in time for me to take it with me to work on tomorrow while my car has it's oil change/maintenance service/paint touch-up/winter tire installation (yes, you read that correctly!).  That work will take several hours (in part because of the painting), so this is the perfect project to take along:

That, and some knitting.  I have several pieces on the go, including yet another hat, a pair of finger-less mittens, a cardigan knit sideways in one piece, and a striped throw.  Methinks the hat and the cardigan will be on board in case I finish or get bored with the stems.

But for now?  The sun is shining and I'm over due for some exercise.  I leave you with a link to WIP Wednesday on The Needle and Thread Network, and these photos of autumn bliss...

Diesel (R) & Pookie (L) in the sunny sewing  room window

Hey!  What're you doing here?!

It's Trickier Than It Looks

Using an embellisher (needle-felting machine), that is.  I played around with it on Friday afternoon, with B&L's "Embellish and Enrich" at my elbow.  Jan and Jean (if I may be so bold to call them by their given names, when we haven't even met!) fill their booklets with ideas and inspiration, rather than strict instruction, so trying to follow through and create some of their examples is a bit of a challenge all on its own.  Add in a roaring machine equipped with 12 barbed needles and...well...!

First I played with acrylic felt and made a couple of samples that mirrored the book's:

Felt shapes on felt
Square & triangle are felted wool bat
Exes are acrylic felt

Felt on felt -- from front to back
and back to front -- to blend colours

A little 3D - felted bat, felted to fabric

Then I moved on to playing with sheers.  This sample is of a sheer felted to a synthetic, somewhat "shiny" white fabric.  Both are scraps given me years ago by a client who is a draper and upholsterer.  The sheers taught me about the power of my machine's 12 needles -- for I broke not one, but two!  It seemed I'd been going too fast and perhaps pulling the fabric against the needle tips, for it was only the tips that broke.

Oops!

Following my instruction booklet, I got the needle cover off, and loosened the screw that holds the container for the needles.  You have to take it out of the machine in order to remove and replace needles.  The instructions were unclear on exactly how to remove it so I called my trusty dealer, and Judy walked me through the process.  We talked about the power of the machine and how 12 needles really distress and distort the fabric quickly.  She suggested I not use all 12.  Who'dda thunk it?  So I took out the 2 broken ones and one other, so that I was down to 9 -- or 75% capacity.  Much better drive the next time out!

And I really like how the sheer fabric puckers and folds -- and how the felted folds look.  There's potential here:

I played a bit more yesterday afternoon with sheers on sheers, and a single layer of sheers, but have taken no photos of those samples because there wasn't a great deal going on.

Pieced Panels

My brain became a bit overloaded with the results to date, so I took a break Saturday and part of yesterday afternoon to work on the piece I'm calling The Door Quilt -- for want of a better title at the moment.  It's for an old, drafty door in our parish church, and consists of pieced panels in the colours of the liturgical calendar.  

These panels have been sewn together
and will go across the top of the piece
~ 42" wide by 20" long

Green panel #1
~ 22" W x 55" L

Green panel #2
~ 22" W x 55" L

The green panels will be quilted separately and then attached, side by side.  This pair will then be attached across the top by the quilted blue/purple and red panels.

Overlaid on this quilted background will be a large motif...The finished size of the piece is expected to be 38" W x 72" long -- you can see I've built in extra width, which will be trimmed away as the piece takes shape.

Having just washed the backing fabric for all three sections, this afternoon's work consists of sandwiching the top section and perhaps beginning to quilt.

But for now?  A good long jog in the mid-day autumn sunshine.

Happy Thanksgiving!