Seams For Pre-quilted Blocks

Seams and details within this quilt have kept me busy. To more easily handle this quilt I had decided to seam the elements/blocks together that I know/believe work.

I use scotch tape to secure the butted edges of two blocks in position. These are placed about 6" apart on the back side.
A wide zig-zag (7.0 on Pfaff 7530) stitches them together. I use a mono filament thread for the top so the seam won't be visually obvious. A regular thread is on the bobbin.
Gently pull one side of the tape backwards across the seam to allow the stitches to tear through the tape to more easily remove it. Do the same with the other end.
I like to strengthen this seam between blocks. My additions not only do that, they also camouflage it or soften and blend hard edges between the blocks. This is done more easily while the pieces are small and manageable. Note the free-motion back and forth line that had been added to the diagonal seam across the two outside blocks when I initially sewed them together.
On the two seams between the three large focus blocks in the center of the quilt I layered pulled apart yarn and spirals cut from the black linen reverse-applique process.
Those bits and pieces are held in position with gold tulle. I then free-motion stitched around the spirals and back and forth lines through all layers. The excess tulle was then trimmed away.
THEN it occurred to me that reinforcing the back side of the seams should be done at this time as well. Reducing or eliminating the stress on the seams of large quilts constructed this way is a good idea.
I cut strips of fabric on the straight of the grain. These are 1 3/4" wide, folded in half and stitched with a 1/4" wide seam.
I don't know what these flat heat resistant plastic bars are called. They come in a set. Their purpose is to make tubes of fabric without having to turn anything inside out. Insert the bar, twist the tube so the seam is laying in the center. Steam press the fabric flat. Then advance the bar to the next section of the fabric tube.
I blind stitch the tubes over the seams. This is not the fun part, but it's necessary for fine craftsmanship in construction.

It THEN occurred to me that adding details such as the metal spirals will be easier to do before the pieces get any bigger. Sooo... that's what I'm doing now. I'll get back to the subject of designing this quilt soon.

The Real Lake and MY Lake

This is how the real lake looks today.
This is the lake in MY imagination.

Lake #52 - 13"x 11"

Our son took a picture with his iPhone on his bicycle ride to work this morning in downtown Chicago. It's zero degrees up there today. It is beautiful, but it's not my lake.

I've been watching the ice and snow build up on the shoreline where our cottage is in Michigan through the webcam that's posted in my sidebar (live pictures changed every 30 seconds). Just days ago there was running water in the channel and waves lapping the beach. Brrrr....I'll keep dreaming of warm summer days on MY lake.

By George, I'm Getting There...

This is what my design wall looks like today.
Yesterday I had done the reverse applique and couching on the black linen. All those small colorful spirals do not work (photo below). I had thought the red color and mass of them would dilute the focus on that bright orange block near the center of the top of the quilt. Wrong! They are too much ... too busy ... they end up fighting for attention.
I also added a posy to the corner of my block as well as cutting off the top section and adding a triangle of the red side of the upholstery fabric (part of the frame around the center section). I like how the red suede strips runs into the partial spiral. Also how an implied horizontal line runs across from the top of the light blue fuzzy background block. PLUS that triangle of muted orange extends the orange over into this corner of the quilt in a subtle way.

Since small spirals didn't work, how about larger ones with little color? I cut a piece from the same discharged linen I had used in the center section. Now, that's more like it. A partial spiral peeking out from under the orange block does soften its edge. The size of these spirals are similar to the that of the posies ... a nice repeat with variation. How would it look if there were more of them?
I photocopied a section of that fabric. Cut out paper motifs are pinned in place. This number and size of spirals play nicely ... they fill in the area, they're similar in size and color to the posies which helps to integrate them into the whole, plus they're a repeat of those in the center panel. Also, their size creates a transition between the big blue and red spirals to the one in the corner block.
I need to play a bit more with the distribution. I like more of a spiral peeking out from behind the orange, but I don't like that it's lined up even with the big blue one. I'm also pleased with one of these spirals completing the partial shape in the upholstery fabric.

Now to find that particular stamp and get out the soft scrub to discharge additional spirals where I want them to be in this area.

Repeating Lines

Repeating details of lines and shapes is what I've been working on while the quilt is in small pieces.
There are a number of narrow stripes throughout the piece ... in the border print and especially in the center focus block. To repeat that design line I have couched a flat variegated red faux-suede trim through the center of all the yellow stripes. This is not only repeating the elements of line and red, but it also breaks up (interrupts) the width and prominence of the yellow stripes.
My block needs another posy in this half. I cut a circle of the base fabric and pinned it in place. Tomorrow I'll couch the yarn spiral over it. Notice the metal spiral paper clips hanging in the center of the broad brown stripe? Now that's a MUST! I have about of a dozen of them here. The rest of them are in Michigan. So I got online and ordered a box of 50 clips. The postage costs nearly as much as the product. Sigh! The peril of living in two different places is that what I need now isn't here, but there. Sigh!

I like the idea of continuing the red suede trim through the top of that "big" orange square over to the corner block. This helps to quietly define the border at the top. I'm still considering what to put in the area to the left of the orange square.
I use a fabric pencil to draw circles on the fabric to size the spirals in the spot I want them to be. The red reverse applique spirals were sewn within these drawn circles today.
It's coming along. I'm spending more time pondering than actually stitching. Both activities are part of the process ... part of the journey. As many of you know, the thinking, visual exploring, and "what if"ing parts can't be hurried. The sewing parts just take time and skill. I appreciate all of you who are hanging in there with me.

Just Sewing and Considering

The discharged black linen has been layered with other fabrics for reverse applique and is now fit into the previously empty spaces.
I'm sewing reverse applique blue spirals into a long horizontal strip. Left alone they get visually lost. Couching yarn around the shapes makes them noticeable ... but not too obvious. These spirals add subtle interest and a bit of complexity but remain in the background while functioning to get some bright blue over on this side of the piece.
Red is layered under the black linen in that upper left corner. I'm trying to think of the best pattern for that area ... something to soften that strong edge of the orange square.

I'm getting anxious to get this top portion puzzled out so smaller pieces can be stitched together into larger units. Then I'll be able to move everything up on the design board and figure out the bottom section. In my minds eye the proportion of the bottom has always been wider than the top one even though the photographs have pictured otherwise. As I've concentrated on each section, there's been thought and consideration about the whole piece.

I've created an album of photos that record the progression of this piece through my designing process. Click on the picture of the center square in this quilt in the sidebar. A new window will open in Picasa. There's a button to make a slideshow with captions.

Now to turn on that Packer/Giant football game. GO PACK!

Progressing

The upper right corner is coming along. I'm pleased with the reverse applique on the discharged black linen block. Yarns are couched over the cut edges of the appliques, plus there are couched yarn spirals filling in the background. The variegated yarn outlining the circles looks like neon lights.
I've worked on the four 6" blocks for each of the corners. They began as blocks made for Caron's "and still counting" project. These are stitched with variegated floss (2 ply) and she really wants those spirals for her project to be stitched with black thread.
A variegated yarn is couched next to the rows of colonial knots. My free-motion echo quilting is a bit crude because there's no extra fabric to grasp for ease of control while stitching it. Oh well ... I think the wavering lines exudes extra energy.

PS: An album of photos for the documentation of this project is located in the side bar. Just click on the cover photo. Another window will open in Picassa to view the album of photos.

Refining & Expanding

This is how my design wall looks now. A bit less of a "mobbley gobbley mess". The center section has been refined. I'm pleased with the striped border print that helps frame it. Using a different set of stripes on each side has off-set the symmetry. The rest of the bordering is upholstery fabric with different colorations on the front and back. I've used both. I like how the those borders extend up and down the sides. These extensions define the width of the piece (about 48"). They've also given me a notion where the top and bottom will end which helps define the design areas above and below the center section.
The group of spirals in the center of the top section has grown. However, I've since moved that yellow square from the bottom left corner of the grouping. As you can see, there's been more cutting of Patty's yellow block with the deconstructed aqua spiral. I also trimmed and cut J.C.'s large block with the multiple circles. Being a whole 11" block commanded too much attention. Now, there can be a repeat of those shapes and colors in the bottom section. A path of distribution has also been decided on for the circle/spiral fabric.
Last evening I got out my gold metallic paint and Liquid Matte Medium. On the left is the original fabric. The center piece has been discharged and spirals quilted within the circles. On the right, paint mixed with the medium emphasizes the spirals AND adds more dimension. I'm thinking of these as lights. I'm thinking of shopping in a souk at night ... colored lights, colorful ware for sale, and dark mysterious corners/passages ... intriguing confusion.
I know the areas to be filled in will have dark value fabrics. I printed out a photo and used a black crayon to color in the white spaces. Then I scanned it back into the computer. Someday I'll figure out how to employ Photoshop to do that. Here's a black and white copy to see how the values are distributed and working together.Today I'll continue quilting fabric for those empty spaces. There's another piece of black linen with a different pattern of discharged spirals printed on it. I'm thinking of layering two pieces of fabric under it (a red and a blue) with the intention of cutting reverse applique-work red, or blue, spirals. I'll continue to think about that while I cut pieces of the striped border fabric I quilted up yesterday.

At this point I'm still working with design units. Arranging and rearranging ... finding and making the pieces to fill in the puzzle. All the while there are considerations for the composition of the whole piece. Next I'll explain the placement of these units in the context of visual flow and balance.

Woo Yoo! Jenclair of Bayou Guilts has listed me for the "You Make My Day" award. I very much appreciate it. But, again, there're way too many blogs that I read that make my day to select just ten. If you're reading this and leave a comment, please consider that I've tagged you for this making my day award.