Productive Weekend

I had an awesomely productive weekend.

I finally turned this quilt top into a quilt.
It's only been sitting in my UFO pile since fall of 08. Hey it only took me a year to get to it, that's pretty good! Now I just need to add binding.

I spent Saturday doing this: {Courtesy of Mr. PD}That's me in the white helmet and Mr. PD right behind me

We had an awesome date and got to meet up with 2 of our couple friends from TN. That's what I love about my husband, he knows that I would prefer an action packed day over a night at a bed and breakfast, fabric over flowers, and chocolate for no reason at all!

I also sent out my DQS7 last week and it was delivered during the weekend.

Bada-Bum!!

In my house a bada-bum is given (like a drum roll, or a ta-dah) whenever we accomplish something or we just want to receive some praise show off. In my daughter's case it's usually given when she wants to show of her outfit or a cute hair style, in my case I usually want my husband to notice something!


I have finished adding color to my Peacock Quilt and I lurv it! I'm definitely, positively, 100% in love with the process and will be pursuing it further.


It took a couple of hours to tint it but it was so relaxing and vegitating (meaning I didn't have to think about it, or anything at all for that matter.) This is pretty much how I spent my afternoon (after running a 5k this morning - pictures soon) while waiting for my migraine meds to kick in: color in, paint with textile medium, heat set, repeat, and repeat... and repeat. You get the idea.


I'll have to do a tutorial on the process... maybe... if you're nice to me... ok you twisted my arm! Tutorial to come soon. If you are interested that is.

Now all I have to do is decide on the border. I'm thinking a scalloped border ... although I dread doing a scalloped binding. Anyway I think a scalloped border would go along very well with the whole elegant grandeur of the peacock theme. I'm also thinking this little guy is either a king or a prince - I can't decide which. You do know that the pretty peacocks are all boys right? The name of the quilt will be .... wait for it ... King Julian or maybe Prince Julian, maybe king Benjamin - the most noble king I know but somehow I don't see him as being a showy kind of guy.


Now I have to wait 7 days, 7 whole days! before I can wash it. I want to wash it in hopes of the "poofiness" coming back. When you heat set the color you have to press it with an iron and the "poofiness" has been flattened - somewhat. I am a little nervous about washing it, that is why I'm waiting 7 days - exactly what the instructions on the textile medium say to do. I'm not taking any chances of the color washing out or worse, bleeding.

Peacock quilt update

Well I am on the fence as to whether to send this quilt of to my partner or not. After stalking browsing through my partner's blog I have come to the conclusion that this certain person prefers more traditional pieced blocks over artsy blocks and quilts. In my mind trapunto is very traditional... but I can't decide if my chosen subject is too artsy for my partner's taste.

I think that who ever receives this little quilt will appreciate it (hopefully) and all the hard work that went into it. But if it's not your taste, it's not your taste and there is nothing you can do about it. If you are like me you won't display it (at least not anywhere prominent) but might keep it tucked away because you still like it and appreciate it... or you might let your kids claim it.

Soooo.... I have decided to finish it up and hope to get some feedback from my unsuspecting partner. Once it is finished I will decide what to do with it. Besides there is plenty of time to whip up another quiltie if needed.

front before washing the blue ink away

reverse of quilt

Tips about using water soluble blue marker:

• spray ink with a spray bottle until saturated
• let it air dry - do not use iron or blow dryer to dry - heat will set the ink
  
• allow to dry completely - it may look like the ink is gone but it may reappear!
• once dry look it over to see if the ink has reappeared anywhere on the quilt - if so, wet again. If not, you are done and can know use an iron on your quilt.

Trapunto fun: DQS7 progress

I have always wanted to try trapunto, but have been deathly afraid to try it. First of all it sounded way to complicated and second of all I felt like my free motion skills weren't up to the challenge of trapunto.

Well I grabbed the bull by the horns and just went for it yesterday! I had so much fun I think I have found a new passion!

My free motion skills have improved by leaps and bounds since my first free motion project a couple of months ago. I owe it all to a secret tool that I discovered and I will be showing you how to make your very own sometime soon. I promise! I also owe a lot of the credit to my new love...

Say hello to my Brother PQ1300!!

I scored this baby off of eBay for about $350. It is the predecessor to the PQ1500 (which you can find for about $800 new) and is rather hard to find and no longer made. It is identical to the PQ1500 but instead of sewing 1500 stitches per minute it only (insert sarcasm) sews at a mere 1300 stitches per minute! I love the 9" throat space and the super responsive foot control. Oh and I'm 100% positively in love with the knee lift!

I got this baby a couple of weeks before moving from TN and it only made it out of it's box to make sure it was in working order then it went right back in. I only now pulled it out and have been using it for the nine patch quilt along and for working on the peacock. There is no better way to learn how to use a machine than by working on a project with it.

The only bad thing about my machine is that the lady I bought it from had lost the large extension table that came with it. I called my brother dealer from back in TN to check on the price for replacing it and he said Brother quoted him $180-ish!!! HA! Apparently the reason it is so high is because they don't sell it separate and they no longer make it. Well there is now way in the world I would ever pay that much! So I'll be ordering a custom made table for well under $180!

So how did I accomplish this great feat of trapunto? I actually did it all by machine and it went rather quickly. The hardest part was cutting away the fabric and that was only because it took so long!


1) Trace your design with water soluble marker onto your quilt top
2) Decide which areas you want to be "fluffy." I just colored on my design template in red crayon those areas I wanted "fluffy" so I could have something to reference as I quilted
3) Lay your quilt top on to a piece of batting (I used quilters dream poly in white) using Basting Spray to secure it.
4) Using water soluble thread (I used YLI Wash-a-way thread $3.95/spool) stitch around all the areas you want "fluffy
5) Cut away all of the batting from the back of the quilt except in the areas that you wan to be "fluffy." Be very careful not to cut a hole in your quilt top! I found a pair of cuticle scissors handy for really small spaces
6) Now layer your quilt as you normally do: quilt top, batting, backing. Thread your machine with regular thread and quilt around your motif as you normally would!

When you are done you will dissolve the wash a way thread and the blue marker leaving you with a beautiful finish piece. I know it sounds complicated but don't shy away from it! Give a try with something simple like a single flower or something, just to practice.

First layer quilted with water soluble thread

Water soluble thread detail


Here I have quilted through all layers in regular thread after I cut away my excess batting. You can start to see how certain areas are raised. This will be accented further once I do the background quilting.



and to give you an idea of what the quilt will look like, the reverse of the quilt

I still need to quilt the background before I take the quilt to water to wash away the thread and the ink. I still haven't decided if I will proceed with my plan of adding color to the quilt.









PS I need some help naming my Brother. Give me some suggestions and if I choose yours I'll send you a little something. I haven't decided if it's a guy or a gal so I'm open to all suggestions!

Doll quilt possibility

Here is an idea I am playing around with for the DQS7 (Doll Quilt Swap 7).

I think I may be biting off more than I can handle, and I'm not completely sure it fits my partner's taste.

My plan is to quilt the design first and add color later. I've seen quilts done in this manner that are stunning. Of course, the quilting skills are phenomenal! I don't think my quilting skills are quite there yet but I think I can do a decent job. Of course there is always the special "file box" for butchered quilts. (The trash can!!!)


This is what I"m talking about:

Quilt by Irena Bluhm: By the way she is missing this quilt! So if you have seen it anywhere please contact her!
And these from Helen Stubbings:

Irena also has books on the matter

DQS7!!!

It's that time again! Sign-ups for the Doll Quilt Swap 7 (DQS7) are now underway over at the Flickr Group. I joined the last swap for the very first time and it was so much fun. The swap was very well organized and had great swap parents that kept things running smoothly. I met a bunch of creative ladies and men too! So if you are like me and need the motivation of a deadline to finish a project why not join me and sign up? You don't have to be an expert quilter to participate, you'll be matched with a partner of similar abilities and likes. But hurry, sign-ups are only going through this weekend and are being limited to 200 participants!

Here's a look at my quilt from the last round. The one I made and the one I received!