Artful Homemade Quilts Have A Way

[koshergrl]

I started the border late last night. My dye job turned out pink rather than red, but still looks good (the girl likes it). I may have to pull it out and start it over, I think it's too tight. But making progress, will take a picture tonight!

 

[koshergrl]

So the rit dye...I am finding it's very important to accurately weigh your fabric. It says 1 box per lb...I used 3 boxes for 3 sheets, and left it in a long time. So I think that I need to roughly double or triple the amount...I haven't used the liquid dye yet. It appears to be stronger...but you have to actually wash the material after you dye it. Anyway, it's coming along!

 

[freedombecki]

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To answer an @Bloodrock44 question, this is the one I'm working on now, and I'm getting good and sick of fish it's going so slowly. ​

 

[freedombecki]

I started the border late last night. My dye job turned out pink rather than red, but still looks good (the girl likes it). I may have to pull it out and start it over, I think it's too tight. But making progress, will take a picture tonight!

I would love to see the pink rather than red border. Teal, pink, lime, black, and sunflower yellow are very hot right now. It's no wonder your dear daughter likes it.

 

[koshergrl]

The rug is getting bigger!

I took pics and I've been trying to get them onto my photobucket account, but there's something going on with it and I'm unable to upload images. I'm working on it.

 

[koshergrl]

 

[koshergrl]

And a spring lady bug my son found and took a pic of:

 

[koshergrl]

So I had to check and see what rugs are going for...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/161342...cycled?ref=br_feed_20&br_feed_tlp=home-garden

$40 for one that's roughly 1/2 the size of what mine will be when it's finished.

 

[koshergrl]

Making progress! So I will get my keys for the new place tomorrow pm..I really hope to have the rug finished by then, and will start on the boy's.

His room is a azure color...and his favorite color is purple. I'm thinking of purple and blue.

 

[freedombecki]

Making progress! So I will get my keys for the new place tomorrow pm..I really hope to have the rug finished by then, and will start on the boy's.

His room is a azure color...and his favorite color is purple. I'm thinking of purple and blue.

I hope the rug project goes well. Sending up a prayer for a move that is easy, neighbors that are helpful and kind, and happiness be your new walls, koshergrl!

 

[freedombecki]

Did a schema of a water plant for the fabric fish quilt top. It goes out 5 places:

_M_​

_M_​

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_M_​

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_M_​

_M_​

_M_​

_M_​

_M_​

Well that's the center row or at least in part. The one I designed is a little more complex, but there's no easy way to express it, and even the one above will be changed from upper case to lower like the fish, I think. *sigh*​

 

[koshergrl]

 

[koshergrl]

It needs blocked, which I will do this week in the last days before the move is final. I will shape it (there is a lot of tugging and pulling to bring this into the correct shape...one its own, it's not even or flat. It has to be forced into submission). I will stretch it into a uniform shape and then pin to the carpet...and possibly dampen it just a little...and then let it sit for a while. Turn it after a bit and do the same thing to the other side.

Here's another pic after I straightened it a little more:

 

[freedombecki]

Oh, that is so precious on so many levels, koshergrl!

 

[koshergrl]

I started a message to you but it's so ponderous using my laptop, I ended up losing it...

I do plan on putting a (or another) border on in the middle color. I have some scraps, I think I can put a uniform border on..if not I'll dye another sheet and use that. I really only intended it to be green with a contrasting border..but it has turned out somewhat different and I agree it should have another contrasting border to pull it together.

The sheets that I've used have been washed and dried hundreds of times...I think their days of shrinking are behind them. Having said that, this thing is going to be too big for a regular washer. It might get a wash every year or two in an industrial landromat washer...but my plan is to beat it for the most part.

The pink part looksa little dingy because the sheets have some dark print at the head end...where the folded back hem was. I ripped the seams and used that part of the hseets too, so the tufts at teh joins look darker because they have that print on them. Darnit stupid computer is lagging..going to post before I lose this too.

 

[freedombecki]

I started a message to you but it's so ponderous using my laptop, I ended up losing it...

I do plan on putting a (or another) border on in the middle color. I have some scraps, I think I can put a uniform border on..if not I'll dye another sheet and use that. I really only intended it to be green with a contrasting border..but it has turned out somewhat different and I agree it should have another contrasting border to pull it together.

The sheets that I've used have been washed and dried hundreds of times...I think their days of shrinking are behind them. Having said that, this thing is going to be too big for a regular washer. It might get a wash every year or two in an industrial landromat washer...but my plan is to beat it for the most part.

The pink part looksa little dingy because the sheets have some dark print at the head end...where the folded back hem was. I ripped the seams and used that part of the hseets too, so the tufts at teh joins look darker because they have that print on them. Darnit stupid computer is lagging..going to post before I lose this too.

I actually loved the pink as the outer border, but I've also noticed in past quilt work, bright hot colors as the outer binding or finishing edge of the quilt winds up the same color as housedust, so it's pretty rare for me to put a hot color on the outside after seeing window displays suffer by showing dust before their time is up where bentonite residue blows through the air like crazy or dry days seem to invite dust as well at my quilt shop. So I just got in the habit of using dull colors on the outside border to minimize the problem. Here, we have muggy days alternating with dust devil dry ones, which amplifies the accumulation of border yukkies. Our mothers would just take them outside, hang them on a clothesline, and beat the dust off with a large wooden spoon or even a flyswatter. Their secret was to not leave them out in the sun too long, 20 minutes being too long.

 

[koshergrl]

Yes and that's the thing..rag rugs, if they're being used, are going to end up looking like what they are...rag rugs, lol. All of them fade with time...

I haven't worked on it since last week because all my spare time is used either packing, cleaning or moving stuff from one house to the other. I'm looking forward to completing the move, completing the rug, and starting on the next one!

I will have enough of the teal to put a border on, so that's a good thing!

 

[freedombecki]

Hope the moving goes well, Koshergrl. I hit the wall on the fish quilt. So, I'm soothing my little ruffled feathers by doing another quilt as I realized I needed a break from itsy bitsy squares.

It's Brick-a-Brac time!

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So it looks like a brick quilt, except it's actually on an angle such that the bricks are true parallelograms.

Can't wait till it's done!

So far, it has 5 rows of 2.5x5.5" parallelorams. I'm loving it!

 

[freedombecki]

Spent the entire afternoon cutting a couple of hundred more parallelograms. I'm using a roof acrylic template from Marti Michell's cutting system, except I'm not making the houses. I've been fascinated lately by irregular shapes and curved ones that can be tessellated and played with as my contribution to the op art in the few who do their craft exclusively in the style of MC Escher.

Today, what I thought was an acrylic template actually goes to a sizzix machine. I thought there would be a template in there. Nope! You have to buy the Big Kick or Vagabond sizzix cutting machine.

But oh it looks so much fun!

[ame=http://youtu.be/E36CqyqNVJo]From the Sizzix Quilting Workshop: Fabric Bottle - YouTube[/ame]

 

[freedombecki]

Another method in using the bottle die:

[ame=http://youtu.be/34URJd_B3LA]Fabric Cutting Tips for the Sizzix Bottle Die - YouTube[/ame]