Treasured Times, preview only

Back in October of 2011, I was asked to make an art quilt for a couple of friends of mine. They wanted it to be 6 feet wide by 3 feet tall; have greens, blues, browns, and a touch of red; and to reflect this time in their lives. I was thrilled and terrified! But I accepted...noting that I wouldn't even start on it until after the first of the year.

Well, in 2012, I DID start on it! And it consumed my entire Spring! I worked on this for about 6 months and on July 4th, it went to its 'forever home'. This piece is called 'TREASURED TIMES'.

I had planned to show the finished quilt and the entire creation process here on the blog, taking lots of pictures along the way to make that possible. But once it was finished and shown to my quilting friends, I was strongly urged to enter it in a quilt show.

I have never entered a quilt show before (although I have had two quilts in the AQS's ULTIMATE GUILD CHALLENGEs in the past!), and the idea is (again) both thrilling and terrifying!
But I decided to do it.
And that means that I can't show pictures of the finished quilt here on the blog! Not just yet.

But I will share a few images of the process, just to give an idea of what has been going on at my house! :)

This piece was done as a 'fiber collage'...I cut up small bits of fabric and used them like paint to create the image. Handling the bits was sometimes tricky; I found using a putty knife and/or tweezers made it easier to slip one bit under the edge of another bit. These were not stitched or fused...merely positioned on the batting until the whole background was sandwiched under black tulle for the stitching.

The background was created intuitively...I was not referring to an image as I created this fantasy place. I used chunks of colored construction paper to give me a sense of what shapes I might want the landscape to take.

I decided to include the faces of this couple, as well as their dog, on the quilt. I took photos of them on New Years Eve so that I would have something to work with...they were unaware!

The dog was fun to do, yet challenging at the same time. I had learned to do "portrait" applique from my friend, Vanessa, so I used that same method to create the dog, as well as a few other elements on the quilt. Here you can see the various fabrics I have chosen and labelled to use for the dog.

The dog and other various elements were created separately, to be applied to the quilt after the initial stitching. Various fibers and treasures were also included in this collage.

I created a pair of ducks to represent the oldest son...he is the Duckmaster at the Peabody Hotel here in Memphis. Each color was a separate bit of fabric! The foot is layered under a piece of blue tulle to give the illusion of it being under the water. I spent a whole DAY making these two ducks!

Now you can get a little perspective...those ducks are tiny! Each one is about 1-1.5"...tiny! But they were a necessary element!

I used beads to create the body for a butterfly for this piece. A good friend of mine gave me the black beads from her stash.

Here, the butterfly is sewn on the quilt. I tacked the wing tips so that the wings maintained a curve...creating some dimension.

The robin was a bit of fun! The nest was created from many tiny slivers of fabrics, cut and arranged then stitched.

Ok, that is all I can show you of this quilt for now.
I hope it isn't TOO MUCH! I plan to enter this in shows in 2013...after that, I can give the whole story!

Blogger dashboard has no icons

OK! I found the empty space on my screen that, hopefully, will allow me to upload photos! Here is a screenshot of my dashboard...there are no icons on that toolbar! How helpful is that? not very, I'll tell you. But if I mouse-over the area, a label pops up...better than nothing.

Let's see if this works. If it does, perhaps I can get on to posting about things I really want to talk about!

Changes make me ill...

Well, I am once again at the mercy of ever-changing technology that leaves me behind! I have finally got something to talk about here on the blog...only to find that Blogger has "upgraded" their "interface". I cannot figure out how to post photos! I feel like it must be here...yet my toolbar has no icons! I'll keep trying...check back, but don't hold your breath or anything!

Where ya been?

I have been working in my sewing room....really, I have! But what I haven't been doing is blogging about it. Bad Trish! I will try to get it together, because I have lots to show and tell about this big project that I have been working on for MONTHS! Stay tuned...or maybe just check back! ;)

My Brown-Eyed Girl Quilt

At the November, 2011, retreat of my quilt guild, I took a class from Susan Cleveland. She taught us her 'piped applique' technique that she used on her 'Eye of the Piper' quilt.

I bought her PIPING HOT BINDING tool, as I could see it would come in handy, both for quilts and clothing. It is a clear plastic unmarked ruler with grooves on the underside near each long edge...the groove on one side is 0.25" from the edge and on the other side it is 0.5"
from edge.

This means you can cut the strips slightly wider and not worry about keeping the edges perfectly aligned when you fold your strip over the filler cord to sew...because you will use the tool to trim the finished piping to have a flange of the exact width.

The covered filler cord rides in the groove of the tool and the rotary cutter is used to cut along the adjacent edge to trim the flange to, in this case, 0.25".

Once the piping for this project was made, it was time to make the blocks.

The pieces are cut using layered freezer paper templates. There was one A, B, C, and D template for each block. I wanted to make more than one block at a time, so I made duplicates of the templates, allowing me to make 4 clocks at once.

After choosing which fabric would go where, the templates were ironed to my fabrics.

I cut out each shape, leaving a generous 1/2" along the curved edge but cutting the other 3 sides according to the template.

Then I began adding the piping to the curved edge of each piece.

I chain-sewed these pieces (not cutting the piping between templates) and used a small wooden skewer to help hold the piping in place as I sewed. Susan had lots of helpful tips for sewing these blocks!

Once the piping was added, the blocks were cut apart and sorted according to template.

I then turned the seam allowance of the curved edge and piping to the backside and pressed carefully. This leaves a little 'gap' between the template and the piping...perfect!

Now to assemble the blocks...

I used a waxy paper for wrapping deli sandwiches, which I purchased from Sam's Club, as my foundation. I cut the fabric rectangle that was to be the 'eye' and pinned it to the paper.

Then I used masking tape to position the template (to avoid having to pin through the 3-layered freezer paper!).

Then I carefully stitched in the ditch along side of the piping to attach this piece.

Once stitched, only THEN can the freezer paper template be removed!

I carefully folded back this layer to trim the 'eye' (rectangle) close to the stitching to eliminate bulk.

Then I smoothed the fabric back in place and added the next piece.

I continued to build blocks in this way...starting with template A, then B, then C, then D, until the block was completed.

See the masking tape to hold the piece in place for sewing...and the wooden skewer which helps spread the ditch open to sew in it.

The last piece of this block is ready to be stitched.

With each addition, the underlayers are trimmed to reduce bulk. But after the first layer, it is easier to fold the paper back and trim from the backside.

Here I am playing with the various finished blocks, trying to decide how I will arrange these and how many more I will need.

This is the final design. But even though I like it, it seems like it is not enough by itself.

I decide to make some stacks of chinese coins to put on either side!

After selecting the fabrics to use and sewing them together, I layered the pieces on the quilting machine to quilt.

Speacking of quilting, although I have no pictures of this part, this piece had to be quilted on the sewing machine instead of the longarm. The quilting consists of stitching in those same ditches that were stitched in as the blocks were assembled. Susan warned us about doing too much additional stitching, which will draw up the quilt, as the filler in the piping will not shrink up like the rest of the fabric and you can end up with 'mountains'.

So I spent hours stitching in those ditches...again! I thought how ironic this was...I was a new longarm owner and here I was, quilting on the sewing machine instead! boo hiss.

Once the two panels of 'coins' were made, I decided this needed a panel across the top...something to put a hanging sleeve on! I wanted to join all the various panels together using beads...so there needed to be a way to hang this without having the rod show.

I auditioned fabric for the top panel...trying to decide whether to use a dark strip within a lighter field or a light strip within a darker field.

The darker strip in the lighter field won out. But instead of a strip, I wanted a zigzag.

I cut little 60 degree triangles from some of the leftover fabric strips and arranged them in a pleasing way. Then one by one, these were sewn together.

I decided to put the piping around each section, between the binding and the body of the quilt.

I was now toying with the idea of hanging some stuff from the bottom edge.

(the clips are just holding the binding in place until it is sewn by hand.)

You can see my body as I hold the camera out over the table, trying to gain perspective. I have no design wall, so photos are the way I decide what to do next!

I settled on the distance I would leave BETWEEN each of the sections, then shortened the top section to accomodate that.

The finished quilt: Here, you can see some of the quilting, which really doesn't show much in the photos taken straight on. The top section holds the others with large wooden beads. There are bead spacers at intervals between the center and side sections.

I used cotton batting for this, but added an additional layer of polyester in the top section to create a trapunto-like affect. I stippled in the light triangles above and below the dark zigzag.

For the bottom of the quilt, I created 3 triangles. Two are 60 degrees, like the ones in the top, and the center one is 90 degrees. I used a product called INNER FUSE by Dritz, a double-sided stiff fusible interfacing. After cutting the triangles, I cut and sewed fabric to enclose them, leaving the upper edge to close by hand when the spacer-beads were added. The triangles also hang from the main quilt with beads. There is a wooden circle hanging from the center triangle and wooden and brass beads on the side ones.

The side coin strips also have a wooden circle at the lower edge. These circles were left over from a 'challenge quilt' I did before.

Here is the back of the quilt. You can see the minimal quilting in the main piece...just the stitching in the ditch around the 'eyes' and also, between the blocks.

Also, notice, the hanging sleeve has been added...this is laying sideways--the top is at the left of your screen.

And here is the finished piece, MY BROWN-EYED GIRL, which was a birthday gift for MY brown-eyed girl, Kelly.

yellow pants, the outcome

Well, it has been f-o-r-e-v-e-r since my last post! sorry...I have been staying so busy that I haven't taken the time to talk about it. But I need to document this stuff, since my memory isn't as great as I wish it was!

I did finish the yellow pants. Remember, I cut off the top of the back and created a yoke to sew on instead...the yoke was larger than the area removed from the upper pant, so it was to fill in the space at the sideseam.
It worked.

The new yoke provided a decent fit in the high hip area.
However, I still need a longer back crotch extension to eliminate those wrinkles under the bum! These are the same wrinkles I had on the NAVY PANTS.

Overall, the fit is not bad.

But they aren't perfect.

They are a little tight across the area UNDER my tummy.

In the side view, you can see how they contour the tummy. This isn't always awful...a little contouring keeps the overall silhouette smaller, and since I generally wear my tops untucked, this doesn't always show.

This picture below demonstrates the waist tilt problem. Even after all my finaggling, I still didn't get it just right on these! The center back is a bit low as compared to the side-waist, as is the center front. this is one of those things that is hard to nail until you get all the other elements worked out. The amount of slant of the center back seam can make a difference in whether or not the back waist sits high enough...ditto the front. But I generally don't change the front slant too much.

The SIZE of the tummy also makes a difference as to how high the front waist hits. The larger the tummy, the longer that front seam needs to be to reach the waist. If you have a tummy that changes in size, this front waist drop can be a hard choice to make! Apparently, this was a larger tummy day!

I put pockets in these as is my usual M.O. I like jeans-style pockets that lay flat on the tummy (instead of side seam pockets).

Yes, I can squat down in these.

The back waist DOES pull down a little...but I had already determined that the back seam needs to be longer at each end) crotch point and back waist).

Despite the less-than-perfect fit, I have a good range of movement in these.

These pants look ok from behind, but I wish they had more ease right on the bum cheeks. My bum isn't huge and adding some ease there better balances the larger waist/high hip area.

Below, you can see the waist tilt in back. I'll work on that.

Overall the pants are "OK"...but not great.

I used a zipper from my grandmother's stash. Well, that wasn't a great idea...back then, they didn't have a 'lock' feature on the tab, so when I bend over the pants sometimes unzip. That is unacceptable! :)

Choosing the right settings for drafting pants is so hit-and-miss!

My very best-fitting PMB pants are some that I made using 1" of hip ease, but then had to sew out the excess fullness on the sides.

So, I decided that I should use zero ease.

WEll, that is true, I DO need to use ZERO hip ease....

BUT, one thing I forgot to consider is that when you add hip ease, in addition to more ease at sideseam, the pattern's crotch point is also extended.

When I sewed out the excess fabric (jodphurs) on my previous 'best' pants, I did NOT sew out the longer crotch point, too.

So, when I use ZERO HIP EASE, I also need to use a longer crotch point setting than I used when I added some hip ease!

Duh...

Each pant is a learning experience!