FINISHING SMALL QUILTS FOR DISPLAY

 Last night I made the letter "K" block that will be used to make a sign for the "Quilts With a Kick" Show that will be in Berea, Kentucky this summer.  The show is an exhibit of our current year's challenge which is "Stampeding Quilts".  However this blog is not about the show, it's about finishing small pieces for display, because of the Quiltography Challenge we, the Quilt Artists of Kentucky, have going on.

The challenge is to interpret a photo into a 12" art quilt. We are going to be exhibiting these pieces at the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society  "Getaway"  in June and possibly some art galleries later in the year.

The challenge we are having with small art quilts is how to display them in an attractive manner, while also keeping them light in weight and easy to hang.  In a previous post I discussed attaching them to artist canvas.  You can find that post in the March archives.

One of our QAK members, Betsy Terrill,  told me about using a double layer of Peltex.  She uses the Peltex that has adhesive on both sides. I didn't have any on hand so I used Aileen's Tacky Glue instead and heat set it with an iron.

I started with cutting out the plain front of the quilt. I applied the letter after I got the front piece of fabric glued to the interfacing.

 I did not have any Peltex on hand but I did have extra heavy interfacing. According to the directions that I received from Betsy, I cut the front piece larger than the piece of 8"x10" interfacing. I applied glue to the fabric, on two opposite sides and glued them to the interfacing. I then created mitered corners on the two remaining edges, applied glue to them and folded them over into place.

I then applied the letter to the front and quilted the whole piece, using only the interfacing as the batting and backing.  If you are using this method with a quilt that has been  pieced or already appliqued then you must plan ahead so that there is plenty of fabric left over to wrap around the edges.

 Here's what the back now looks like after being quilted. 

I then created the back of the piece, using the same gluing process and quilting it all over.

Here's what the back of this piece looks like.

The two pieces are now ready to be put together to create a finished quilt.

I applied glue to the back side of the front and glued the front and back together. I then heat set the two pieces together, using an iron set on hot.  Using Peltex or extra heavy interfacing with heat bonding on both sides would eliminate this step, but it's also quite a bit more expensive.

I finished off the edges using the same metallic thread that I had used for the quilting.  I used a quilting foot to have more space under the foot and did free motion zig-zag stitching around the edge.  This finished off the edge and it holds the two pieces together.   I ended up going around three times to get in enough stitching.  I do not have any hanging wire or thread attached to this piece since it will be part of a larger piece.

Betsy Terrill has finished off her 12" square piece with a hanger made of buttons and thread on the back. The back of her small quilt also echos the design on the front. She has also applied a label to the back.

Front of the quilt.

Betsy also stitches the two layers together where ever she can do so without the stitching showing.

Some other ways of working with this process would be to make the back a bit smaller than the front so that it doesn't show at all.

Make the back larger than the front and have the extra back work as a frame for the front.  The front edge could be finished off in a decorative manner before applying it to the back using stitch-in -the ditch.

It also occurred to me that all embellishments, in the body of the quilt,  need to be done before attaching the back. 

Edges could still be embellished after the two pieces have been attached together.

This method does make for a secure piece that will hang beautifully and be light enough to mail and transport.  We will have about 50 pieces for the KHQS exhibit so weight and ease of hanging are real issues.

Thanks to Betsy for sharing her ideas about finishing small pieces for display.

Ideas and comments are always welcome.

Create Always,

Karen

QUILT HARNESS

Cindy's harness in action

Cindy Vough, one the Co-chairs for QAK, has come up with a great idea for a "quilt harness" that is an easy and inexpensive variation of the ones used by Caryl Bryer Fallert in her studio. 

What is a "Quilt Harness"?  It's a contraption that can act as a third and even fourth hand, depending on how many you think are needed, while you are machine quilting a piece large enough to slide off of the table or create uneven weight. It evens out the weight distribution of the quilt.

Following Cindy's directions, I headed to Lowe's to buy the needed supplies.  Here are the parts that I found there:

Closet shelf bracket and support. 

The shelf support bracket is about 2' tall. The shelf support is double walled and very strong. It also has a hole in the notched end that allows for a piece of rope to be pulled through it.

Holes in both pieces that allow for a piece of rope to be pulled through.

A clamp-on vise is needed for holding the closet rod in an upright position.

My table has a beveled edge and the clamp was not big enough to go over that edge far enough to hold it in place, so, I used a small piece of wood, that was left over from making quilt rods, to act as a level edge for the vise.  It's a very small vise and rather cute in that blue color.

Place the shelf support bracket into the vice-grip, with the open side of the bracket facing away from the table, and with the round hole at the top. Tighten the vise-grip until the support bracket is firmly in place. Place the shelf support into the bracket near to the top.

Tie some of the clothesline firmly around the vise-grip.

  Thread the clothesline through the hole in the shelf support bracket and then through the hole in the shelf support.

Attach a large clamp clip to the clothesline.

 The quilt harness is now ready to use. Here is a photo of me using it when I finished the edge of my "DRAGONFLY POND" quilt.

I placed my harness next to my left arm. I can easily reach up and move the clip without having to get up. It is also in the right position to keep the quilt from dragging off of the table. It also holds the quilt above the table and takes off the weight of the quilt on the table.

I am wondering if the shelf bracket should be taller. I have wound the rope around the end of the shelf support to allow me the option of making it shorter or longer as I am working. A taller support bracket might make it even easier to hold the quilt up and off of the table. 

I think a larger clip clamp would also be better. I just haven't gotten around to buying one yet.

I really like this idea of Cindy's and am grateful to her for allowing me to share it with all of you. Let us know if you give it a try and how you like it.

Create Always,

Karen

"DRAGONFLY POND" is finished!

 My "DRAGONFLY POND" quilt is finished and hanging in the kitchen. It has been an experiment in finishing a top that was made in a workshop and that I didn't find interesting anymore.  Here is a photo of the original top.

You can see that there were several changes made. In earlier posts, I have talked about the many steps that I went through with designing the new quilt. You can find them in the archives for February.

It's been fun doing this "redo" because I felt totally free to experiment, especially with paints.

At the end of my last post, I had just painted in all of the white highlights. 

I didn't feel like I had enough dark contrast, so I used a dark burgundy and painted in shadows around the white. It gave me more of the feel of gently moving water. 

I also added in some beading on the tendrils floating from the Water Nasturtium Leaves and in the water weed ( made with green painted, distressed cheese cloth) around the rock. The purple weedy growth was done with purple, 11o seed beads, using a fringe technique.

The rock has also been repainted to give it more depth. I used a burgundy color because I really felt like a "purple" accent was needed. The rock also now has three turtles sunning on it.

Plain glass beads were used to simulate air bubbles on the stems floating around the Water Nasturtium leaves. I also used up a supply of glass frogs, who are now enjoying the sunshine on the pond.

The edges were finished with a combination of satin stitches. The first layer was done with a ragged satin stitch using black thread.  The second round was done with a regular satin stitch using a variegated tri-lobal poly thread. Both of these threads are 40 weight.

I added a third round using FS#20 metallic thread by Madiera.  It is the same copper thread that I used on the fish.  I used a free motion technique with the machine set on the satin sitich.  It was easier than trying to get the edge to run under a presser foot.

I purposely made the edges with a ripple effect to add to the idea of water rippling in the pond. I also trimmed the piece in non-symmetrical curves. Again to add to the effect of a pond and it's wavy edges.

After this experience, I am excited about working with some other old pieces, some quilted and some not, to see what new and wonderful things I can do with them and to have the freedom of just experimenting.

I love this quote:

It looks we are in good company when experimenting with either unfinished pieces and changing them around or even cutting into quilted pieces.

So, look around your studio. I'm sure there are pieces waiting to be discovered and changed into something new and exciting.

Create Always,

Karen

LAST BATCH OF SNOW DYED FABRIC

Pans covered with snow. Love those heavy winter gloves.

With 11" inches of snow on the ground and plenty of fabric that could be dyed, I did one last batch of Snow Dyed Fabric last Friday. I had discovered a pair of heavily insulated gloves that someone around here had bought years ago, so I used them to pack the snow into the pans.  They worked great!

Here's all the pans filled and with the snow starting to melt. I love seeing how the colors in the pans change as the snow melts.

 I cut the fabric into one yard and fat half yard pieces. I did one piece that is 2 1/2 yds long.  I scrunched it into an old wallpaper pan.  I'm going to make a long tunic top or a short dress with the long piece of yardage.  When someone asks me if I Tie dyed it, it will be fun to see their reaction when I tell them I Snow Dyed it.


This time I used a silk/soy fabric that has a shiny side and a dull side. The dull side shows the dyes up much better than the shiny side, so, that is what I"ll be using in my work.

Here are photos of nine of the pieces.  I've finally figured out how to write dates on the photos along with a number to keep my fabrics cataloged, for my personal journal.

I have about twice this many pieces but these give a good idea of the variety that I achieved.  I'm still not real happy with the effects that I'm getting with the red dyes, but, I'm loving the rest of the pieces.

I'm seeing "whole cloth quilt" written all over most of these pieces.  Interesting quilting designs combined with surface beading!

Let the fun begin!!!

Creating Always,

Karen

QUILTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE 2014-2015: Mounting pieces on artist canvas

KOI POND by Karen S. Riggins, Nonesuch, KY 2014

 Members of the Quilt Artists of Kentucky, an auxiliary guild of KHQS, have been participating in a "Quiltography Challenge" that started in September 2014.

We have been interpreting photos, taken and submitted by our members,  that have been issued on line, every  two months since September 2014. Each participant could end up with four, 12"x12" pieces.

THe whole collection is going to be displayed at the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society " Getaway" and at the Berea Quilt Extravaganza.

In an effort to make the pieces easier to display, the Quiltography committee is asking each participant to mount their pieces on 1/2" artist canvas.

My piece above is already mounted and that's how I discovered that I can't measure 12"x12". It's exactly 11" x 12", therefore the added border of Mother of Pearl beads.

Start with a 12"x12" canvas.

Place D-rings or eye rings on the back of the canvas. I prefer the D-rings because they allow the piece to lie flat against the wall. Add the picture wire.   I've signed the back of this piece with a permanent ink marker that is acid free. I prefer that over a label because a label can fall off.

Paint the edges of the canvas using any acrylic paint. I used black paint on each of my canvases, because that is what worked for me. 

For the "KOI POND" I ended up painting the 1" border with an additional coat of metallic copper paint.

For this Iris piece, which is not part of the challenge,  I painted the canvas with a purple metallic paint.

Crested Iris by Karen S. Riggins 2015

Once the paint has dried, glue the piece to the canvas. I use Aileen's Tacky Glue. I cover the back of the piece with an even grid of glue lines and then press it into place on the canvas.

Additional embellishments can be added with thread that is stitched around the edge of the piece , through the edge of the canvas.  I used a 30 weight cotton thread for this stitching.

Detail of edge stitching on "FUNGUS" 2013

Mounting these small pieces in this way gives them a much more professional look and it will make it easier for the committee to transport them and hang them at exhibits.

For information about the KHQS Getaway, click on the link at the right for Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society.  You will find the Getaway Brochure on the front page of the web site.

Creating Always,

Karen

SNOW DYEING 2015

Last week, with over 15" of snow on the ground, I thought that it was a good time to experiment with some snow dyeing.  It's always an experiment because I never know for sure how the snow that I happen to have that day, will work with the fabrics on hand.

I do the dyeing in our farm shop which is heated at about 50 degrees, so, it takes about 24 hours for the snow to melt, depending on how wet the snow is. This snow was pretty dry and about 6 hours after I got everything into the pans, I ended up spraying them with water to get the snow to melt and produce more liquid. They dyes weren't getting to the bottom of the pan.

Snow starting to melt on first group of fabrics

The first batch that I dyed had some wonderful pieces and some not so wonderful pieces in about equal proportion.  I used base fabrics of cotton sateen, a silk/cotton blend, a silk/linen blend, and two 45" by 54"  pieces of silk velvet.

The velvet pieces are in the long wall paper pan.  Since I used the same colors on both pieces of fabric, they turned out pretty much the same.  Here's the piece that I like the best:

Silk velvet

The blue and green dyes really saturated the fabric. I was very surprised when I saw how dark they turned out. I did get a crystalline effect on the middle portion of the fabric. The other piece turned out even more saturated with color.

Here are some of the pieces that really showed a crystalline effect.

 

Some of the red pieces tended to take the dye almost in a solid fashion as did some of the blue pieces. 

TWO DAYS Later:

The snow is melting in places and icing over again at night. It's great snow man snow once you break through the icy crust.

I ripped up 10 yards of fabric using silk/linen and silk/cotton blend fabrics as the base fabrics.

The pieces were about 36" by 22".  I noticed that I got the best results, in the first batch, on the smaller pieces. 

This time, I put each piece in it's own pan. The pans are a collection, from years past, of  taking home left-overs from local Mexican Restaurants. I folded and manipulated the fabric pieces and then placed them in the pans. The dyes were set out according to color, each with it's own marked spoon.

Fabrics in pans ready to add snow. One of the pans is already packed with snow.

The snow was the kind that packed really well. I used 1 1/2 five gallon buckets of snow. I patted it down on each pan until it was almost solid. Then I added the powered dye colors. NOTE: Be sure to wear a mask when working with the dyes.

Pans filled with snow and dye powders sprinkled on top. 

Each of the pans has holes in the bottom, so, as the snow melts, the excess liquid drains out of the pans. I can do this because I have the pans on my husband's farm trailer, in the shop. The concrete floor in the shop has a wonderful array of colors on it.

Snow melted and fabrics are ready to wash out.

The fabrics are a lot easier to rinse out since a lot of the excess dye and liquid are on the shop floor instead of in the fabrics.  I hand rinse them in the big wash tub sink that is in the shop bathroom.  I collect all of the rinsed pieces in a five gallon bucket. I then carry the bucket into the house and load all of the fabrics into the washer, add about 1 tsp of Synthrapol and wash everything on hot. 

After drying all the fabrics, I iron each piece, because that's the best way to see all the patterns that were created by the melting snow and dye.

Ready to iron. It's handy to have a good audible book to listen to.

FINISHED FABRICS: I love them all!

 Some of these pieces will be quilted as whole cloth quilts and most likely have surface beading added to them.

If you don't have any snow, these results can be obtained with using ice.  I used the snow because it was here and it was free. Out of two different dye batches, I've ended up with about 20 yards of dyed fabric. To dye that much fabric using ice would be time consuming if you are freezing your own ice or expensive if you buy the ice.

I think I have enough fabric to keep me busy for awhile.

Creating Always,

Karen