The Burden of Excess

Posted on October 3, 2014 by edges

I think I have been building a fabric fortress.

Between Ebola and ISIS, global warming, widespread violence, political inertia and general public apathy, I am exhausted. I am tired of worrying, tired of taking action against all odds, tired of challenging the status quo and tired of cleaning my house.

If only someone else would do all this work for me. Can someone else please solve world hunger, cure the diseases, make sure everyone has a safe place to live, keep my neighborhood safe, write the essays, pay the bills, do my laundry and cook the family’s dinner?

For awhile, can someone else go to work for me and comfort those who wander in and tell their stories, maybe help the woman whose husband is in the alzheimer’s care facility, chat with the lady who just lost her daughter to breast cancer, make the day brighter for the woman who is the only caregiver for her aging mom, and for that matter just generally fix all the brokenness and the heartache and worry and pain?

If you can give a hand here, that would be great.

Because I try to solve all of this with fabric. And I don’t think it’s working.

As a matter of fact, I think the fabric is suffocating me. That’s why I spent some time this past week clearing out a great deal of the fabric in my sewing room. I have come away with 3 giant bags of scraps: batiks, traditionals, solids, you name it.

And I am donating it to the next rummage sale.

Don’t get me wrong. I still have plenty of fabric on hand. I still have projects in the queue. I still have far more than I thought possible. I still have Sterlite bins full of lovely possibilities, full of the hope of one world-weary woman, assembling bits and pieces from random places and random lives and attaching them to one another with the audacity to believe that at some point it will become something, if not beautiful, at least useful.

I’ll never be able to part with it all.

Thank God.

But at least I let go of some of it.

Slow But Steady…Maybe Just Slow

Posted on August 29, 2014 by edges

Finally, between all the end-of-summer commotion and back to school and bus rides and new schedules and coordination, I found a few moments to sew.

I wanted to get back to the Polka Dot Tree project, which has been sitting on my machine for, I don’t know, months now.

I continued outlining the branches, using the triple blanket stitch. This is such a common stitch but is a little trickier to use than a simple blanket stitch. However, for my purposes, it stands out on the tree and branches so much better and has the look of hand stitching.

Throughout the project, I had the dual feed engaged and used a number 20 foot so that I could see exactly where I was going.

With the branches done, it looks a little more like a Halloween project than I was hoping.

However, after positioning some of the leaves, I got a better feel for the direction this project is headed. I guess that’s the beauty of designing and creating my own projects.

I have no idea how something is going to turn out til after it’s done.

With the polka dot leaves laid out, I am liking the patchwork/scrappy thing that’s happening. I am planning (at least at this point) to do some hand embroidery and hand stitching on the leaves, adding in some wools for dimension. You can just get a hint of some of the fabulous wools in the upper left-hand corner of the shot.

I won’t be able to start quilting til after all of that is complete.

Since the fabric on this quilt came from 60 different people around the world in a polka dot fabric exchange, the idea of being united is important to me. I am toying with the concept of adding a machine embroidery quote along the bottom. We’ll see. Ideas are easy. Implementation takes a little time.

Loyal Hearts – Civil War Quilters of Illinois

Posted on June 25, 2014 by edges

I don’t have much in common with my 12-year-old son any more. I don’t write Minecraft apps and he doesn’t embroider. My idea of fun is strolling through a lovely garden and his is slipping and sliding feet first down a water slide.

That’s OK. We venture into each others’ worlds often enough, and luckily we both love the art of conversation. Today we found a precious piece of common ground. He is a civil war aficionado and I am a quilter. And Illinois State Museum in Lockport is bringing both of these interests together in a stunning display until Oct. 17.

Please make the time to go visit. You won’t regret seeing these lovely pieces of history in person and reading the stories.

Just a few samples:

This white on white embroidery whole cloth piece is just stunning. Ask the docent to run the light over it or behind it to get the full effect. Something that had me just mesmerized was the way the cloth does not pucker from all the stitches. I’m still not sure why. The thread is heavy and the stitching is dense and very elaborate. A mystery that went to the grave with this woman.

This one was probably done 1912-1915. Hence the 48 stars. The women who assembled this would have been commemorating the local soldiers, and this likely was a raffle piece.

Detailed hand embroidery for every name on the quilt.

The young lady who created this quilt was from Aurora IL in Kane County. Her husband went off to the war and she stayed home with family and created this masterpiece.

It is speculated that she had ties to the general store and had access to precious fabric. Cotton was not easily obtained so she used wool.

My favorite piece, which is obviously one of the stars of the show is this Log Cabin quilt. The story is that the woman who made this quilt had sons in both the Confederate and Union Armies. Pieces of uniforms from both sides are embedded in the quilt.

I’m not sure why, but it never occurred to me that Illinois could lean both toward the North and toward the South. Chicago, of course was Yankee territory, but southern Illinois, down near the Kentucky border, was very much considered the south. Precisely what makes this quilt so very “Illinois” and so very poignant.

Finally, I had to include this gem. Taken from a note sent with a pair of socks, it is a civil-war era form of social media. Match.com-style. We gals haven’t changed so very much over the years, now, have we?

Fresh Projects and Fresh Strawberries

Posted on June 16, 2014 by edges

This is a project I worked on at work and at home for the June Bernina Software Sampler, which I teach. The project involved learning techniques for machine embroidery applique. The bud of the flower is part of the tutorial, but I went ahead and incorporated other elements as well, adding the stems, leaves etc. to create a simple but “summery” table runner. Once again, I was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest.

No pattern available, but for those of you with embroidery machines and Bernina Embroidery Software 7, it’s a piece of cake….well, once you work out the dimensions. The flower panels are 8 x 8 inches finished, and everything else falls into place after that.

(How many pairs of glasses does one sewist need? Hint: At one point I used them both.)

One of my favorite times of the year is when the strawberries are harvested at the local farm. Here’s a shout out to friends at Norton Farm. They are an important part of our summer! We’ll be waiting for the tomatoes, broccoli and finally the fabulous corn! I’m growing a few tomatoes and cukes out back, but the weather has been a little cool, so they are taking their time developing.

Here’s to the sweetness of summer! May we always appreciate the bounty!

Slow But Steady

Posted on May 30, 2014 by edges

I am making some progress on the Polka Dot tree. Getting the basics right is always slow going…and the truth is, I am making this up as I go along so we’ll see how it turns out.

The shape of the tree was first drawn on freezer paper.

As you can see, I had to tape several rows of freezer paper together. Freezer paper is cheap. Large format drawing paper is not. I can work with almost anything.

Next I took the garment wool, which was half-price at the local shop, and I attached Wonder Under 805 to the back. Any double sided adhesive paper would work, especially Steam-a-Seam Lite. However, my experience is that once I attach the wool and iron it into position, the Wonder Under causes fewer problems with the sewing needle getting loaded with glue gunk. Every project is slightly different so we’ll see how this goes.

Next, I laid out the wool with the fusible on the back right side up over my cutting mat, and placed the freezer paper drawing on top. Then I simply trace the drawing with a rotary cutter.

Next comes the tricky part, as the tree then is just a squiggly bunch of fabric that has to be switched over and laid out on the red twill. Once it is moved into position, then I carefully remove the backing which allows me to fuse the tree to the background.

This is where you have to get creative. I happen to own a small flat ironing pad which I literally move around under the flat tree, and iron/fuse a little at a time until the tree is attached to the twill. It doesn’t have to be perfectly fused, as I will be stitching down all the branches and the trunk. The fusing just has to be enough to hold everything in place while I am moving it around under the machine to stitch it on.

Next I spread it out over a layer of quilt batting to act as stabilizer.

This is NOT the quilt sandwich!

I will eventually trim off the edge of the quilt batting and attach more fabric to the sides of the quilt (I think…if all goes as planned). But I will be fusing polka dot leaves on top of all the branches – 60 of them, one for every fabric I received in the exchange. Then I plan to do some embellishing and then once all is finished on the top of the quilt, I will add ANOTHER layer of quilt batting and the backing and then quilt the whole project.

Whew! I’m exhausted just thinking about it. But everything follows one step at a time.

Keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually you make progress. Just like life.

Baby Steps Toward a Project

Posted on May 9, 2014 by edges

I’m getting ready to start working on the polka dot project. I have an idea about creating a tree with the different polka dots as the leaves. I am starting as a base fabric some absolutely lovely twill which I ran across on rosie.com, which had an advertising link to Honey Be Good. Honey Be Good sells premium organic cotton. I’ve only purchased this red twill there so far, but wow, the twill is yummy. I need some clothes made out of this stuff.

I’ll be adding wool as the trunk of the tree, and I wanted to outline it in white. I’m never sure how it will all turn out, but that’s the thought right now.

So I experimented on the machine using white perle cotton, size 8, as the blanket stitch thread.

As you can see, the perle has a lot of dimension, jumps off the fabric and generally adds a lot of pop. But size 8 is just too large to go through the tension disks properly.

I used a 90/14 needle and reduced the tension somewhat. But you can see that the back side was looking like it might get knotted and nested at any moment. Considering the size of this project, I just don’t want to be worrying so much about the thread.

I switched to Aurifil, size 28, and used the triple blanket stitch. I made the blanket stitch a little wider for visibility, since the thread is so much finer. Aside from having a more “machine-stitched” look, it does the job with the same “eyeball impact”.

So here’s where I’m eventually headed. I will be using much larger pieces of wool on the twill, with the white blanket stitch around it. Eventually the whole project will be machine quilted, but not until I get all the details that I want.

I urge you to really experiment with your machine and some of the thicker threads. You can get a hand-stitched look, and even when it does not look quite as hand-stitched, you can certainly add texture, dimension and detail to your project.

Be bold. Nobody is writing the rules.

A Sketch With Breakfast

Posted on April 23, 2014 by edges

Color My World … with Polka Dots

Posted on March 22, 2014 by edges

I’m ready for the World Wide Polka Dot exchange.

The fabric has been cut. The envelopes are stuffed.

Now all I have to do is bring it all over to the quilt shop that’s sponsoring the event — Prairie Stitches Quilt Shoppe in Oswego.

Honestly, there’s still time if you want to join! It took me a total of about an hour and a half to 1. cut the fabric, 2. stuff the envelopes, and 3. add my return address labels.

I realize, of course, that this whole little event will mean I absolutely must create something with the fabric I receive from others. But that will be a fun little challenge I can take on over the summer. I’m leaning toward a sweet polka dot garden idea. With ricrac. Because what in the world is cuter than polka dots with ricrac?

The Problem With Starting Projects

Posted on December 11, 2013 by edges

Yeah.

The problem with starting projects…or buying fabric for that matter…is that you have to finish them. You know what I’m talking about. Every single one of you has a project somewhere that has been lurking for, um, years. You’ve lost interest, moved onto something new and exciting. Or maybe you just haven’t had the time.

Well.

I hearby declare January the “Finish a Project” month. And 2014 the “Get Out From Under” Year. If, like me, you have projects waiting patiently for you to complete them, then let’s all agree to get one done in January.

We can’t do it in December and everyone knows why. Even if you will be completing projects in December they are likely gifts and you are under a deadline and those don’t count. We’re looking for the poor, neglected, procrastinated projects. We’re looking for the ones you gave up because it became tedious, or boring or difficult. We want to clear away that ever-growing stack of projects that get sidelined for a “higher priority”. Usually for me, it’s work or classes, or housecleaning, as if housecleaning will be on my list of life’s accomplishments.

Let’s find at least one that’s worth completing. I’m starting with the three shown below. I have no idea if I will be able to get one of them done in January, but I’m certainly going to try. The others will get incorporated over the course of the new year.

I know, without a doubt, that life will get in the way.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t try.

A fun Christmas Baltimore Album quilt. Needs a bunch more blocks put together, but a good January project. No chance I’ll get it done this Christmas, so a good one to work on during Downton Abbey episodes.

Definitely want to get this one done by spring. Problem is that it’s queen size. Won’t be easy to quilt on my machine at home. Dreaming of a longarm.

This is a grown up quilt. complete with instructions and history of each block. I'm ready.

This is a grown up quilt. Complete with instructions, history of each block and reproduction fabric. I’m ready.

How do you know?

Posted on August 16, 2012 by edges

I’m visual. The universe speaks to me in form, shape, color and sometimes font style. I’d call it a subtext to reality, except that it’s not a subtext. It’s the headline, the feature show. And it’s taken me this long in life to realize it.

A few years ago, I took a local class about compelling issues, which included a video presentation during every session. The video was mainly people talking, expressing their points of view and providing intellectual insights. For whatever reason, the video director chose to periodically — sometimes in the middle of someone’s sentence — switch to black and white.

Now I’m sure this was done to get our attention and to make sure the audience stayed focused on the content. However, it had the opposite effect on me. Whenever the screen would switch to black and white, the whole context changed. For a few minutes afterward, I heard nothing, as the image took over and did all the communicating. I had to physically redirect my attention, and the sentences spoken in the interim were lost to me forever.

You may be visual too. If you are, you know what it’s like to:

–Purchase a book because you like the font on the pages.

–Recall the sunlight streaming into the church, the look on the pastor’s face, the swaying of the choir, but not a word of the sermon. (Don’t worry, I read it online again later.)

–Know instinctively by the looks on your friends’ faces how things are going.

–Have a desk that’s piled high because out of site means out of mind.

How do you learn? My husband and son are auditory. If I ask a question at home, to heads buried in books, computers, TV screens or even conversations, both of them can repeat back my exact words. They can quote characters from movies and cartoons and real life, having only heard a line spoken once. Astounding.

Or maybe you are tactile. I know you well. I teach sewing and machine embroidery, and believe me, many of you are tactile. You nod as we speak instructions, you understand when you watch the video. But until you are asked to perform the task yourself, all the effort just goes *poof*. Performing the task, touching the machine, pushing the buttons, head down, hands working, is the only way to make it stick.

The truth is, we all use various combinations of communication and learning styles. Most of us need to hear it, see it and do it.

The quilt in this post is a free pattern from Moda Bake Shop, made with Bella solids. I haven’t decided how to quilt it yet, but I’m thinking about a delightful chicklet-colored variegated King Tut from Superior. I’m not sure yet about the thread.

I’ll know when I see it.

Edgestitch

Sewing is life. Life is art.

Tag Archives: quilting