Friday, April 4, 2014

On a Roll

This week the garrison quilt's wide outer border was quilted in what Leah Day calls 'Gentle Flames' stitch. It did not begin well.

As mentioned previously, this quilt is far too large and stiff to bunch up under the machine. It had to be rolled like a log--and it seemed as heavy as a log. Five minutes into stitching the left-hand border, it was clear that continued 'free' motion would be impossible for anybody but Hercules.


Even a programmed decorative machine stitch requires a back-and-forth motion to stitch correctly, so that idea was out. I could just imagine what a puckered, distorted mess that would make--and I'd have to go around the entire quilt several times to fill the border.

What to do? Despair crept into my mind. Would this have to go to a professional longarm quilter for finishing? Surely not! What I needed was a way for this 'log' to roll back and forth while I stitched, instead of having to be dragged over the table and the vinyl-covered ironing board.

And then for some reason my eyes lit on some wooden dowels standing in the corner. If, during ancient times, boulders and large stones were moved great distances by rolling them on logs, why wouldn't the same method work for a measly little quilt?

In front of the machine
Behind the machine











Of course I had to stop every few minutes to rearrange the dowels (and paper-towel cores), but still; what a difference! After nine hours (over the next three days), the border was finished. 'Gentle Flames' gradually morphed into a sort of tree-bark effect, but that's fine for a woodland quilt.


In the photo above, you can see why my next step was blocking. There was considerable warping on that far side, and a bit of it in the interior, as well. Below, on the photo at right, I've circled the problem areas. All of those needed to be shrunk out as much as possible, so the quilt will hang smooth and flat.

Pinned and ready to block



First smoothing with a mailing tube 














That was yesterday, and I left it overnight to dry. This morning it's still not quite dry, but wow, what a difference already! The interior warping (which is mostly on tree trunks, so no big deal) is almost gone...


...and that really wavy section of border (circled below) is practically flat!



Instructions for blocking a quilt can be found in most landscape quilting books, and probably on the internet. The tools are: carpet or a thick rug, a flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth (turned flannel side up), an old sheet atop the tablecloth, quilt wrong side up, lots of T-pins, a damp towel (I used to use a handkerchief, but there's just not enough moisture in it), a spray bottle of water, and a hot, dry iron.

If your quilt is small and your design wall is moisture- and heat-resistant, you can do this vertically, and save a lot of knee and back strain. But as sore as I am today, there are no regrets, and you can see why by the 'after' photos above.

On the old Singer 403, more quilt-as-you-go blocks got made this week. As the scrap fabric pile grows smaller along with my choices, my combinations get crazier. There are 9 blocks to go, so I may have to invade my batik scrap drawer, although I'd rather save those for landscape quilts.






















(These are cropped photos, not squared blocks.) They're fun to make, but because there's no place to put the 403 in the studio (yet), it's set up in the dining room. This is shared space, and for obvious reasons I usually wait for these popular sun patches to disappear before pulling a chair up to the table to sew. That cuts out most of the morning. Oh well. The things we do for our furry children.  :)

Mokie, Morticia and Zoe

Time to hook up with two of my favorite blogs and check in on their reader linkups as well: Leah Day's FMQ Project Linkup and Sarah Craig's Whoop Whoop Fridays.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy all the signs of spring--which is apparently coming after all!

Linda

18 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting the before and after photos. They make it easy to see how blocking really does make a difference! The first couple times I blocked a quilt, I did it after it was completely quilted. That did not work out as well. I only recently discovered that the results are much better when done before the borders are quilted.

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    1. Hi, thanks for commenting! Actually my borders are already quilted here. That un-quilted part all around the perimeter is just excess fabric and batting. My border was the waviest part of all, at least on that one side, so blocking improved it tremendously. I block after all quilting is done, then square and trim, then bind and label.

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  2. Wow! What an amazing quilt. I never realized that you had to block a quilt. Great pictures. Your work is beautiful! :)

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    1. Jessica, thank you. A lot of people don't like to block, but I like the quilts to hang on the wall as smoothly and squarely as paintings, if possible. The bigger they are, the more warping there is to deal with, usually. Also, it's surprising how much better the front of the quilt usually looks after blocking...more textured somehow.

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  3. Love your dowel solution and am saving the idea for future reference.

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    1. Seriously, if that hadn't occurred to me, this quilt would still be sitting up there on the machine, unfinished. Or over at my friend's house. She's a professional longarm quilter. :)

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  4. This is a great post. Talking about the importance of blocking and showing the results really makes me want to continue doing it. As always, you inspire me!!

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    1. Rhonda, thank you, that is so encouraging. Sometimes I worry that I'm just spouting off to myself. It's so cool that you're a blocker, too!

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  5. I'm stunned by how beautiful this piece is. Have been following your progress with bated breath! :D

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    1. Thank you, I can't tell you how good it feels to be getting close to the finish. It's been the longest project I've done yet, but also the largest and most intricate, and in many ways the most fun.

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  6. I really love all your posts on this quilt! What a fabulous piece of art! I can't wait to see the binding on it! a great reminder that blocking is an important part of art quilts!

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  7. What a brilliant idea those dowels are! Thank you so much, Linda, for all the process photos and posts you share. They are so informative! Look forward to seeing this in some major show.

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    1. I have to thank History Channel for the log-rolling idea. LOL You're more than welcome regarding the process photos and posts. I really enjoy sharing, especially problems and solutions. Thank you for the vote of confidence on this quilt...I hope it turns out show-worthy. If so, I truly will consider that...never done it before. Yikes!

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  8. Thank you very much for the tip about the dowels. So clever!
    I adore you landscape quilt ! The back is gorgeous, how wonderful must the front be!!!
    Esther
    esthersipatchandquilt at yahoo com
    ipatchandquilt dot wordpress dot com

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    1. Esther, thank you. As usual, I'm a bit nervous about turning the quilt over (still wasn't completely dry as of last night, so haven't moved it yet) but like all the others, I expect it to be improved by the blocking. Crossing my fingers!

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  9. Hello Linda,
    Rolling dowels - total genius. How else did they get the stones to Stonehenge?
    Today's favourite block is middle right, I think.
    Love, Muv

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    1. Hey, Muv! Funny thing-- I thought, back when I bought those dowels, I was buying them for hanging quilts. Never happened--at least not yet. But boy, am I glad they're here. Used them again today. Oh, that middle right is one of my favorites, too, if nothing else for the sweet little leaf cluster in the center.

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