Denim Lily started

    When I visited Quilting by the Lake Tour Day, I saw a class by Hollis Chatelain, where she sews denim to a multicolor back fabric, quilts it, and then cuts the lines between pieces revealing the multicolor. I asked her if she had a book or video on it, but said I had to buy the pattern. I hate making an existing art pattern, but I bought it because I love denim, multicolor hand dyes, free motion quilting, and landscapes. I read it a number of times, but still am not real clear. I drew my own pattern from one of my photographs, bought some jeans at Amvets, washed and cut them up, and started. After I drew the pattern, I had to trace it in reverse and number the pieces. Then I had to trace it on freezer paper. I made sure instead of using just one color line, I drew hash lines in multiple colors to make sure I could  line up all the pieces. Thanks to a class with Pat Pauly, I was able to know to do that.
   Once the pieces were ironed to freezer paper and cut out, I had to zig zag them together side by side with invisible thread. Then all the pieces had to be zig zagged together. I used my wonderful Singer 401. The next part was awful. I had to take out the paper which of course was sewn in. In the process, a lot of the seams came apart. I would have to do that differently somehow next time. Then, I layered the denim, the multicolor hand dye, the batting and the backing together. She wrote not to spray baste, but I have no fingernails these days and could not do safety pins. So I spray basted. I thought I need to stabilize the piece, so I sewed straight stitch with invisible thread on top, Bottom Line on the bobbin around every edge at least 1/8" away from the raw zig zag edge to every piece. Now, I started to add the quilting lines and realize that I do not have enough colors, so I had to agonize deciding and place an order for some Isacord. I am waiting for the thread to continue. The pictures are my steps up to where I basted it all together. I will take some other pictures as I resume. By then, I will have calmed down from ripping paper and trying to understand the directions.

The Drawing

Reversed drawing with numbers

Pieces cut out and some sewed

Partly assembled

Sections together

Denim together pre-ripping paper

Catching Up

I am not sure why I find it so hard to download my photos and keep up the blog. I certainly am working on things. I admire those who keep daily blogs- just can't seem to work and blog.
  I have cleaned a friend's 301 that sat for 40 years and had issues with the tension, but finally got there. Another friend from my quilt guild gave me a Featherweight that her neighbor was going to pitch but remembered she sewed and offered it to her. In the case and everything. Very dirty. Just love bringing those beauties back to life. It is not just that vintage machines are old, but they still do a better job at sewing in their marvelous precision machined way. Every time I clean one I'm in awe at the machining, fit and finish. And the sewing quality, wow.

BEFORE

DIRTY CASE

DIRTY MOTOR

DUST CAKES

POLISHED

ALL SHINY

CLEAN CASE

READY TO GO HOME

    A new comfort quilt is ready for quilting. I used scraps that I beg from people to make the crumb blocks. All of them were sewed on my vintage Singer treadle. The rest of the quilt was sewed on my 301. I will quilt it on one of my 301s.

 

   

  One of my former students just had a baby, so I used an Eric Carle panel and made up a quilt with kid fabrics. I have to quilt it now. 

BACK PIECED

   Also, my Painted Leaf panel that I made in Rochester at a Pat Pauly class bothered me. One piece just screamed out. When I found out what was involved in ripping, I was intrepid. However, Wanda, from Exuberant Color, said to try and paint it. I did paint it with Jacquard dyna-flow paints and it worked. Now I have to figure out a border and backing, but no ripping! You can compare it with one earlier, it is the 4th yellow big piece from the bottom.

 

Big leaf sewn

Although I have never sewn using freezer paper templates, I pushed through and sewed the whole Big leaf from the Pat Pauly workshop. The finished size will be 24 x 24, but it is a lot larger now until I crop it. I cropped it for the photo. I am ambivalent about it. I think quilting it will make me like it more. Have to find a backing.

Big Leaf sewn and cropped by camera

A fine mess

  Over the weekend, I went to the Genesee Valley Quilt Show (gvqc.org) in Rochester, NY. One day I went with some of my guild friends to look at about 600 quilts and vendors, and another day to take a class with Pat Pauly (patpauly.com) called the Big Leaf. It was a draining day to make all kinds of color decisions and lay out the design. We used freezer paper templates. I had to take it all apart to go home and when I got home, I immediately put it on my design wall so I would not get real lost. This picture is the mess of the design before sewing together. When I get some sewed, I will post it again.

Batik pieces over freezer paper sections