Delicate Arch - Continued

Work on this has been slow.  I have had other commitments and some things should not be rushed.
The first thing that I learned, at least for this style of quilt, I am better off to stitch first and embellish with paint and pencil afterwards, and that sparingly.  I botched some areas from the get go and had to replace them. This is where sewing the pieces with clear thread pays off.  It pulls easily or you can sew a new piece on top of the last one and it doesn't show.

Embellishment and quilting are proceeding in the same order as the piece placement - from background to foreground.  I started with the sky and opted to do back and forth lines in the darker area and just straight rays in the lighter area, emulating sun rays.  The clouds also just had some back and forth quilting, with some of the white thread going out for cloud wisps.  Then I used water soluable oils and colored pencils that were blended with floating medium to color the clouds and deepen the horizon.

All along the dark purple on the right that had a supposed sun spot was bugging me.  I finally decided to replace it with a fabric that sort of emulates a dark region with light streaks in it.  I am not after a faithful rendition of the scene and this comes across better than what I had. Once that was replaced, I needed to change the foreground a little.  I am now happy with what I have.

In the meantime, the first mountain ranges have been quilted.  I have two more ridges and the front basin to go and then I will tackle the arch and foreground.  I have done a little on the arch with rust thread to define some of the major cracks and will add a few more such details last.

Hopefully I'll have a finished quilt by the end of next week!  It needs to be done by the end of the month for sure, as I intend to enter it into an art quilt show.

Current status of Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch - Phase 2

So now that the pieces were placed on my Delicate Arch quilt, I needed to sew them down.  I used clear thread, so that it would not interfere with the quilting, threadwork and paint that are still to come.

My fears that the pinned pieces would pucker were fully justified, but actually easily dealt with.  I switched from my usual non-hopping quilting foot to a hopping  foot .  This prevented a wall of fabric from developing as I moved across the piece. Except for the independent clouds, I had to work in the same sequence as I had placed the pieces – from back to front.  I removed the rocks and arch from the foreground.  Then I folded back the fabric covering the furthest back piece, and thoroughly starched and pressed the area.  I only sewed the exposed edges.  If the piece extended all the way across the quilt, I would start at one edge and finish at the other.  Most pieces met under the arch, so I would start there and work to an edge.  When one layer was done, I would fold the overlapping piece down and fold back the piece that was on top of it, starch press and then sew.  I repeated this until all the background had been sewn down.  While quilting I made sure I kept things smooth, but avoided stretching the fabric.

Then I replaced the arch.  I also decided to add an extra layer of batting under it and the rocks.  I had trouble getting the arch the same way – this is certainly an argument for having the clear overlay rather than using the overhead projector, which I had already moved.  I ended up having to cut a new piece, because I had manipulated one piece to death.  I also modified a few pieces and added a lighter colored piece at the very top. Then I sewed it down and trimmed the extra batting to the sewing line.

After this I added the fabric backing.  I thought I was ready to start the embellishing and quilting.  However, when I compared what I had to how the arch was placed before, I realized the arch was now about an inch lower.  The delicate nature of the arch and the airiness of the sky seen through the arch were lost.  DAMN.  I considered removing the arch and placing it higher, but quickly realized that ripping out all that stitching was probably going to distort or destroy the fabric.  So I decided to reduce the size of the background landscape pieces behind it: fewer stitches to remove and cutting the ragged edges that resulted.  In the end, I think doing this gave the background a greater feeling of distance than it had before.

I am happy with what I have.  Now I need to figure out exactly what I am going to do next.  Stay tuned.

The original pinned piece before sewing

Immediately after sewing, arch seems too low and heavy.

After reducing some of the background to put more air under the arch

Freezer Paper Raw Edge Appliqué

It’s been a while since I have tackled an art quilt.  I have been doing small journal page style pieces, but nothing large.  Mainly exploring and practicing with different techniques.

Some of my journal pages.

Last month we took a trip through the beautiful national parks in southern Utah.  I came back inspired and after much consideration, I selected to interpret Delicate Arch at sunset.

 

I have experimented with different techniques in every art quilt I have made so far.  I am searching for something that is not too tedious – it takes away from the fun, creative part of the process – but still allows me the control I am seeking.

What I find most tedious are the multiple tracings required, especially if using iron on fusible.  Besides the drawing of the subject, you need the reverse to trace onto the fusible.  Each tracing is slightly different from the original.  Fusible also leaves a residue that will degrade the fabric over time (see this research) and I find it stiffens the fabric enough so that the needle sort of clunks through it.  I think it has its place, but I would rather minimize its use.

Some artists like Ellen Lindner free hand a lot of their stuff.  I do a bit of that, especially when filling in details or the like, but I am not good enough to render a known subject like Delicate Arch sufficiently well to have it remain acceptably recognizable.

I did a few quilts using Ann Holme’s “No Sewing Until YouQuilt It” freezer paper approach.  Works well, but I feel I can’t do the finer details with turned edge like I want and there’s no room to make changes on the fly.

So this time I am trying something that sort of combines some things I have done. 

•   I first print out a full color picture of what I want to interpret.
•   I slide that into a clear sheet protector you can buy at any office supply place.
• I outline the parts that will be fabric pieces.  I try to not get too detailed. I will add fine details as I go or they will be added with thread and/or paint/colored pencils.

Original print and the clear tracing - 8.5 by 11.

•   I then take the print out of the sleeve.  The drawing on the sheet protector needs to be made full size for the master template.  You can take it to a copy shop to have this done or print out sections of the image and tape it together.
•   I happen to have an overhead projector.  They are expensive, but I use it for a variety of things, including as a light table and when I teach classes.  I project the image onto my design wall, onto which I have pinned paper the size I want the project to be.  I then trace the image onto it.  I also leave the projector set up for when I place my fabric onto the background, to check placement.  Otherwise you need a large piece of clear material, like vinyl or sturdy plastic (think paint drip sheets) onto which the full sized image has been traced.
• I start with a piece of thin batting and a piece of white fabric or muslin cut several inches larger than the final size.  If the background is sky, I tend to paint that  directly on the white fabric (I did in this case).  I pin the batting and fabric piece to my design wall so that the image projects correctly on the piece.  If you are using the clear plastic, this is pinned at the top over the background, so you can lift it for fabric placement.
•    I place the master tracing on a large table and decide the sequence.  You always start from the back and work to the front and when possible place darker fabrics over lighter ones.  I number the pieces in their order.  

Full sized master with numbers drawn.  I started out outlining the pieces with marker, but found it unnecessary. I stayed with pencil to get a better tracing.

• I trace each piece onto freezer paper and label it with its number.  I decide which edge will show when tracing (solid line) and which edges need to be cut larger to fit under the next piece to be cut (dashed line).  Once I have selected the fabric, I iron the template on and cut the piece out.  I peel off the template and position the fabric onto the background and pin it through the background and into the batting, but not into the design wall, using the projected image (or the clear overlay) as a guide to placement.  I keep doing this until all the pieces have been placed.  I make changes along the way.

Freezer paper template.  Note that the left edge extends into the next piece - this will be underneath that fabric.

The beauty of this is that if I don’t like a fabric, I can take it out.  I have the template and can iron it onto another piece of fabric.  I ended up completely changing the background – I felt that what I had planned interfered with the focus of the piece, the arch.  I simplified what was in the background and subdued the colors and details.  The arch itself I tried to render fairly faithfully.  Pinning allows changes to be easily made and you are not endlessly tracing and ironing on fusible.  Each of those tracings would be slightly different. 

The next big question, is how easy it will be to sew the pieces down without ending up with puckers, etc.? I have done something like this before with good results. I’ll use clear thread for most of this part.  The arch will be partially peeled back so I can sew continuous lines across the background pieces. After getting the pieces attached, I will complete layering the quilt and do the quilting and embellishing. I am deciding whether I will use a second layer of batting – I may under the arch and the foreground rock for a more 3D effect. I’ll post those results hopefully soon.

Ready for sewing down.

Half Square Triangles: 8 at a time!

I love HST’s – they can be used so many ways and are quick to make.  

 I usually make them 2 at a time:

• Cut 2 squares one inch larger than the desired finished size.
• Draw a diagonal on one of the squares and with right sides together, sew ¼ inch either side of this diagonal .
• Cut along the diagonal – you’ll have 2 HST’s.
•  Press the seam and trim to size ( ½ inch larger than the desired finished  size).  It's best to place the diagonal line of your ruler along the seam to ensure you have crisp corners.

However, you can make eight with only 4 seams and four cuts.

• Cut 2 squares with DOUBLE the dimensions figured above.  Example: I want to end up with 4 inch HST’s.  So I would cut 5 inch squares to make 2 but will cut 10inch squares to make 8.  (Note how this size of HST is ideal for charm squares and cake layers.)
• Draw in both diagonals on one of the squares. 
• Place right sides together and sew ¼ inch either side of each diagonal.

•  Cut through both diagonals AND cut the square in half each way.  Now you’ll have 8 HST’S.

• Don't move any of the pieces until after you have done all the cuts.  Rotate your cutting board as needed.

• Press and trim to size as above.

Once you have all your HST's, you can arrange them so many ways.  Here's a recent block I made with 2 sets of 8 HST's.

Better Ironing and Work Station

Every once in a while I get a good idea.  That happened a few days ago as I was -again -  replacing the light canvas cover on my ironing board.  It is a 2 foot by 4 foot piece of 1/2 inch plywood, covered with insulbright batting (I used what I had - any other batting should work) and then covered with light canvas that is stretched and folded to the back of the board and stapled into place.  It creates a large, stable and firm working and ironing surface. However, after enough use, the canvas eventually gets gross and scorched.  I can rotate the board once - most of the staining is in the corner closest to the iron.  Then I have to replace it.

So the other day I was at that point.  I had a previous piece that I had washed.  While it was still stained on one side, it was fine on the other, so I stapled this new cover into place after removing and discarding the old one. 

Then I thought: what if I made a removable cover to lay on top of this one?  I could rotate and flip it four times, wash it, or replace it, without having to remove the main cover and staple.  So I took a half width of another piece of canvas and zig-zagged the edges.  I sized it to lay on the work top edge to edge.  These edges are held down with those clips you can use for patio tablecloths.  Works great and I think I will save time and money in the long run.

Feathers Revisited

A little more than a year ago, I wrote about my desire to do feathers well.  I have been practicing them a lot and am improving, although I still have a ways to go.

Besides Daine Gaudynski and Sally Terry, I have added Peggy Holt to my favorite feather stitchers.  They each have a different take on how to make them and I think the more ways you know how, the more applications you can successfully manage.

To recap how I do feathers:

Most quilters will instruct you to feather all the way up one side of the spine and then the other.  I do both sides at once.  It eliminates backtracking or breaking thread and it lets you build the whole feather into the space at once.  I think you get a more balanced result, too.

I think the keys to good looking feathers are making elegantly longish tapered shapes and angling them fairly steeply to the spine.  I am finding that the base feathers establish how the rest of the feathers will look – so taking care to make them really well helps build the rest of the feather. If you look at what I did a year ago, those feathers tended to be stubby and round.  They lacked the elegant curve that I think looks so nice.

The photo below has each example marked with the corresponding number in this list.

1) I start by drawing a spine and stitching it from the top down, adding the base embellishment and ending where my first feather will start.  The “top” starts actually a short ways down from where I want to end.  Once I get back up there, I can decide how I will end the feather. 

2) For a traditional feather, after making the base feathers, I arch out and around, hook into the first feather, backtrack around the top of the feather and then hook back down to the spine.  I then repeat that on the other side of the feather.  The challenge with these is the backtracking and the fact you are making a pair each time – occasionally there are spacing problems.

3) To avoid backtracking you can make a hooked feather, as Sally Terry does.  Start with the same base feathers, then the next feather is slightly shorter – where it meets the previous feather you arch the second higher and away.  No backtracking, but you still are making pairs.

4) Dianne Gaudynski shows that it looks good to make each feather individually, but spacing them close together.  It’s that spacing that challenges me.  You can see where I wobbled mightily at the last.  I got distracted by something.

5) Here’s a completed traditional feather.

6) Finally there are Dream Feathers that Peggy Holt makes.  These start with a base shape.  You make a series of feathers arching away from and to one side of the base.  These get longer and longer, because you return to the starting point each time.  Then the back of the longest feather becomes the spine for the top row of the feathers.  Once those feathers get long, you return to the first side.  You end up with this fabulous undulating curve of feathers.  She shows how to use a variety of base shapes, but I like this simple curl best. 

7) Another feather application is the feather garland that I have devised (but it’s probably not original).  You make one feather with its inner edge towards the middle, make another feather facing it and bit longer.  When you arch around and hit the first feather, make the third feather facing the same way as the first – and so on.  This works really well in narrow borders and sashing.

While Dream Feathers are ideal for borders, when arranged symmetrically, you can fill any shape with them.  For today’s practice I decided to try making a block of Dream Feathers. 

  I started out by marking the boundaries of the area I wanted to quilt as well as the initial base shape.  I also ended up marking the central rosette (not in the photo).

   

The feathers themselves are freehand.  While they don’t exactly match up with the others, the overall effect is one of symmetry and movement.

  I liked the result so much (in spite of my wobbles) that I bound it and hung it up in my studio!