It bloomed!

     My colorwash, that is. I finished the seams and now have to hunt for a backing. I will  quilt this on my Singer 301, not the longarm. Not sure how yet. This was a result of Wanda's Colorwash 360 online class. Sign up for her blog. 
     I have been collecting floral squares for a long time. I wish it could have been bigger. It is 17 rows by 17 rows, so about 34 x 34 when finished. And a bizillion hours.
     I am happy with it. It is staying with me.

Columns clipped on tray

99 pieces of scraps on the wall, 99 scraps on the wall

     Actually there are more than 99 pieces of scraps, but that boring song was all could think of when repeatingly moving colorwash squares. You might have to be a genius to solve a Rubik's cube, but there is only one right answer. In a colorwash, it moves along a spectrum of getting better. Not knowing when to stop moving it around is difficult. 
     For days, I have moved, added, scrounged up a few new squares, rearranged the trays, and taken photos. I think I found a place on the spectrum I needed to stop because it was not improving any more to my eye. This is part of the Colorwash 360 class by Wanda. The amount of information, helps, and insight in the class is staggering- all done online. I have not ever taken an online class before that really pushed me ahead in understanding, technique, and competency. So, it was time to stop. Now the columns are all numbered with painters tape, ready to take down and clip ready to sew by webbing.
     I need to find a better setup to photograph because the colors really do blend and are not choppy like the photo. I bought some new lights, but can't find proper stands. You have to trust me on the color blends. 

Last layout, I'm done

 Black and white shows value shifts

Taped numbers on top columns ready to take down

Spring Colorwash

     I had so much fun in the last colorwash class with Wanda, that I am doing it again. I have enough batiks on the trays I think to make another one, but since it is spring (real slowly around here), I want to use florals. 
     When I did not know exactly what I was doing a while ago, I did make one, but it was sold at a show. I seem to be lacking a lot of colors and values I need, so I will have to really scrounge through all my fabric to find enough- especially oranges, greens and blue greens. 
     I love florals and Debbie always inspires me as I keep going back to her gallery of floral quilts. I need flowers. I paint flowers, I just love them and all their shades, shapes, and textures. My intial efforts here will have to be mightily tweaked and added to.

 

The Colorwash, Quilted and Bound

     Last week was a very difficult week for me. I was depressed and grieving over the situation here in NY. I am not a political person, but the line between life and death and the sacredness of human life is very clear. I could not function to sew. I won't elaborate, but to help pull me out of despair and mourning, I took out my Colorwash that I did in an online class with Wanda and quilted it on my Singer 301. 
     I used pencils especially made for marking fabric and I fear not all of it is coming out. I do not use markers for that reason. I will work on them with a wet towel again. 
     The idea for quilting was to be a burst, but not continuous from the center because that is the way the light moves in value. I chose two rectangle demarcations to stop and start the lines. 
     To start with, I used Invisfil to quilt with Bottom Line in the bobbin. Invisfil was recommended for quilting very finely. I bought an assortment in Houston. It is very thin. I could not get it to work. I tried a spool holder, running it through a paper clip, on the machine, and it kept breaking and not playing nice on the fabric. 
     I put Glide in the machine and it worked well, but I don't have all the colors I need to work over all the areas and it shows. I use Glide in my longarm and have cones of mostly neutral colors. Then it dawned on me to try the monofilament from YLI that has worked so well for me. I put it in, used PremoSoft in the bobbin and it worked like a charm. I was able to finish the quilt.
      The whole quilt was pressed well and then trimmed square. When I was Houston, I took a class from David Taylor, excellent appliquer and quilter. He showed how he used 1/4" Polyester twill tape sewn around the edges of his piece to stabilize the edges so it would lay perfectly flat, no waving. He cuts the sizes exactly as measured down the middle. Unfortunately, I can find it nowhere except in 4 yard packages which means you need a lot of packages and try to piece it. I sewed the longer sides first and then the top and bottom. Holy cow, does it lay flat!

Twill around edges. I used straight stitch. Could do a zig zag, but I did not think to switch machines.

All around the whole quilt

     I had to go back to the lesson, because I almost used facing, but realized it was to have a binding. In my new organization, I found some fabric pronto and cut and pressed the binding. I even remembered to sew the sleeve into the top binding. No problem sewing through the twill tape.

Detail of center

     So, although I have to handsew the sleeve down, and try to remove the markings, the Colorwash is done!! And I love it, and I am keeping it. And I want to make another. Thank you, Wanda!
      I have lots of little stuff I am trying to work on, but this helped me immensely. Thanks for looking!

All ready to quilt!

     The colorwash is all basted and chalk line marked for quilting. I have the thread, the machine, and not the time. I used the padding stitch that Wanda showed. Youtube is again my friend teaching me how to do it. Because I am quilting out the diagonal, I did the basting in two directions forming a grid on the quilt. I used chalk for the lines. 
     After a lot of deliberation, I chose to use a sketch I made of short diagonal lines out from the center in three concentric squares. Of course, I can't find the sketch to photograph it, so I will just have to quilt it and show it. I did not want to stitch in the ditch and call attention to the squares. I thought of curved lines radiating out, but nothing in the quilt is curved. Then I noticed that the light spreads from the inside out in short burst diagonals that are not all even and sketched it out. That is what I mean when I say I let the quilt tell me how to quilt it.

Detail of padding stitches and chalk lines.

Summing up- quilting next!

     I was so fortunate to be a part of Wanda's Colorwash 360 class. I made a small colorwash a while back, but I know I needed to have better information and techniques. I have long admired Wanda's work in color and her colorwash quilts of all kinds. 
     Once enrolled in the class, we were given a very specific schedule for lessons, real time conversations, and a very well designed class page- the best I have ever seen. Every lesson had wonderful handouts- excellent layout and instructions for beginning, continuing and finishing. The were lots of videos, examples, and extra materials to make this a deep experience on colorwash. The videos were crisp, specific, information saturated, and so very helpful.  I knew exactly the time frame and how each lesson would unfold. 
     I also had bought some batik squares from Wanda to enrich what I had been collecting. There are more squares to make another one after Christmas. I need more cafeteria trays- they stack so well and the fabric does not slip on them. Here is my tall stack.

    Due to my son's addition (fraught with delays) that causes the grandkids to bunk and eat here, I have not been able to get the quilt basted and quilted. I did pick out and iron a batik for the backing (shown below under the quilt) and am trying Quilters Dream that I bought at Houston for the batting. I also bought Invisifil thread for the quilting there. I even bought basting thread and needles to baste. 

     So I can't thank Wanda and her daughter enough for all the time, details, professionalism, and feedback they poured into this class so that I could learn from the master. I have spent triple to take a class from national teachers plus lodging, travel, food, patterns and fabric and not learned nearly as much and been so thrilled with the quilt. I hope to make many more. Thank you, Wanda!

The colorwash top- sewn

     I used the webbing method from Wanda's class and sewed the columns that way and it is great. Everything stays put and is ready to sew the rows.

    And then, I finished the top and pressed it well. Ready for quilting, found a backing. I don't know whether to longarm it, Singer 301 it, or big stitch. I bought some Invisifil thread at Houston I am going to try.

Construction begins

     The last color tweak of the colorwash and the last black and white before I took it down, column by column and clipped them for 19 across. There are 21 rows.

      And 7 of them are sewn together so far. The web works.

Inching towards perfecting

     The batik colorwash I have been tweaking and tweaking I hope is coming to the time where I can take it down and sew it. I rummaged through all my batik scraps trying to find some dark reds to make the corner more defined and smoothed. Sometimes, it is like a Rubik's cube- move one piece and others scream out to get moved. I moved some of the light colors also. This is the red corner that kept bothering me.

     After cutting some more squares and rearranging, I had this.

    And this is what the black and white looks like.

     I almost can't even see this clearly anymore. I will wait another day to make a decision. Can't wait to web it.

Colors, colors everwhere

    Pretty darn fortunate to be taking a colorwash class with Wanda online. I love these types of quilts. I made a floral one a year ago or so, but it sold at a quilt show. The only quilt I ever sold, wish I had it back. I am using batiks I have collected and collected. I have them on cafeteria trays I bought on Amazon. They are sitting on the ironing board at the design wall.  Lots of tweaking yet, but at least pieces are up.

Colors in photo are not true- they are not so dark.

Finished

     I have finished a number of quilts, but have not been able to photograph them properly as my clips are malfunctioning. Here is a better shot of the colorwash. Also done is my first One Block Wonder. I have another sewn, but not quilted. I have another one in pieces. I am always looking for fabric so I can make another one. Have to have a large repeat and right print.

     This is not a great shot of the mystery quilt, but it is also done. I will shoot a better one when I get the clip problem straightened out.

Finished Big Stitch colorwash, first look

     The floral colorwash I made, inspired by Wanda, is all completed but hand sewing the facing down. I bought perle cotton and did big stitch quilting which I really loved. I took the photo outside yesterday, but hung it on the fence as the sun was too bright on the garage wall I usually take it. It is too dark of a contrast for the quilt. Once the facing is sewn down, I will reshoot and shoot some quilting details.

Colorwash photos redo, sunshine style

    When I showed the big stitch quilting I had done on the colorwash, one blog reader said to photo it in the sun where the quilting would show up. So I reshot the photos and offer some detail pics. I have used a couple of different DMC size 8 pearl cottons so far. The Valdanis are next to try.

Whole quilt, less than half quilted

Stalled, then sewn, colorwash

     I have been looking at my colorwash on the little portable design wall. Finally, I moved it to my big wall. I was having a hard time getting it right. I need more medium blues to make the transition.  I went through more fabric looking to pieces to fill in. 

Moved the dark pieces out a row. Still have lots of holes.

     This is the last try before sewn. I moved and added and added and quit when I was ready to scream.

    Then I sewed it in the web method so I would not get anything out of whack, and yet, I did. Some squares that I placed new ones on top of remained on top when I picked up the squares by columns (unknowingly). So when sewing the columns, I would occasionally have one left over. I went back to the last photo, figured it out, ripped, and resewed.
    Upon sewing, I have to say, I like the wall version better because there was more light in it. I wanted a stronger glow of light. Wanda told me it was alright, but it isn't like it was in my head. If you want to see awesome colorwashes, go to Exuberant Color and search. 
     I will add a facing, no border or binding, but it is low on my list to quilt.

Blasted in Buffalo

     I am sure if anyone watches national news, you are aware of the snow situation here. Actually, I live just north of the city and am out of the persistent band. I have only had about 5". However, my friends and family are literally trapped inside their homes. As a lifelong resident of Buffalo, I have never seen so much snow all at once. We are talking 5-6' of snow against homes. This is not the norm around here. I have been glued to the radio and on the phone to my mom and friends. There is no way to get to help them. 
     I have tried to get back on track sewing since last week I watched my grandkids 24/7 for a week while my son and daughter in law took a long overdue vacation, but the situation is serious here. My new lens came in and did not function properly, so I sent it back and with the mail situation, I am still relying on my crummy point and shoot. I continue to quilt away on Circle Dance and cut fabric into a workable system.
     My 4 year old grandson was able to make this pillowcase that he used all week on my Spartan handcrank. We both had a good time. I used Elmer's washable glue to hold the seams instead of pins. Worked great.

     The Frozen panel that I reluctantly bought in Houston has been sewn into a top. I cut off the terribly ugly pink border and added two solids and a snowflake border to make it a nice size for a 2 yr. old. Now it needs to be quilted for Christmas, so I need to get Circle Dance done.

      Also, I continue to cut fabric squares for a colorwash quilt and sort them on cheap cookie sheets. I think there is enough and it is daunting to know where to start.

Small steps in starting some new ideas

    Because I love Wanda's colorwash quilts so much, I decided to try to collect and cut squares for this. After a lot of collecting, I am still woefully under the different fabrics I need if I am going to make a quilt at least 40 x 44. I started putting them in shoebox lids, but now, I bought those aluminum cookie trays at the dollar store and am stacking them in single piles. I probably have 120 out of the 150 different fabrics I need. The squares are 2.5" and I am having a hard time getting mediums. I can't really even lay them out on the design wall yet.

     Earlier this summer at QBL, I won a charm pack from Patchwork Plus in Marcellus, NY. I paired it with a black and white charm pack from Missouri star quilt company and made half square triangles that I showed trimming in another post. The next time, I will try to use the Easy Angle ruler to cut these and not do the two lines and cut down the middle approach. Hate cutting slivers off. I put them on the wall and rearranged a number of times. The last photo I think is it. I have to label and take them off the wall tomorrow.