Happy Halloween

 

It's that time of year again when pumpkins glow, leaves are flying in the air and rustling in the wind as winter approaches. 

 

Quite a few years ago while quilting on this lovely hand dyed sateen, above, I came back to my machine and discovered many small Dracula type bats looking at me.  I had not noticed them when I washed/pressed the fabric, or cut it and layered it, or even when quilting the feathers, but all of a sudden..........there they were! 

 

I had to make a decision whether to quilt background over them, or give them their space.  Not wanting to tempt fate, I decided to outline quilt them and let them have their fun emerging from the bottom feathers with glee and ghoulishness, ha.  I named the small quilt "Batzbelow" in their honor and so far all is well.  They stay in the quilt, stored in the back room.

 

Last week we got a new furnace and AC unit as our old ones were starting to fail with metal fatigue and old age, much like me I think.  Oliver had a hard day, lots of banging and clanging, new duct work, two efficient competent guys going up and down noisy stairs and in and out of the house all day. 

 

He worried for about a week now that they were either a) still in the basement waiting to spring a surprise on him, or b) across the street working on the new roof over there.  Everything is now quiet, toasty warm, fabulous.  Even my fingers are warm!  Oliver's toe pads and nose are PINK.  High efficiency heat is VERY nice! 

 

Can't wait to try the new AC that is 5' tall (really) and the highest efficiency rating and cooling capacity sized for our house that we could get.  I hope next summer I will be cool and dry and calm and fabulous instead of hot and sweaty and grouchy and no energy.  That is yet to be seen of course.

 

Hope you are enjoying the turn of seasons.  Below, a photo of "Joy Remembered," a quilt I made last year for the AAQI Celebrity Auction.  This year's quilt, "Return to Provence," will be available in this same auction in November.  Please visit www.alzquilts.org to see all the quilts made by fantastic people to help raise funds to fight this terrible disease.   I'll post some photos of it this week so you can think about it before the auction ends. 

 

 

Detail "Joy Remembered"

 

 

 

Have fun this Halloween, and if you are like me you better not buy Reese's peanut butter cups for the trick or treaters as there will be leftovers and they are not to be resisted.

 

Keep quilting!  Your work gets better every day,

Diane

 

Log Cabin Grid

 

Here is another example of a large marked on-point grid, quilted, and then one by one each square filled in with a log cabin spiral. 

 

It is done with the same idea as Celtic Bubbles - one unit at a time, carefully concentrating to keep things fairly even as you quilt straight lines and resolve them to the very center, lock in stitches, and cut thread.  It's a wonderful texture to use because it is simple to mark the large grid, and the rest is freehand. 

 

My lines aren't all straight, spacing isn't all perfect, but I like the effect and this was fun to do, but definitely a bit challenging if you are a beginner.

 

Because the overall grid is quilted first, and then the interior portions done one by one, it does take some time, but with designs like this one I believe the extra care and time is worth it if you use this judiciously. 

 

By that I mean no huge expanses of this (unless you LOVE doing it and can do it well and quickly), but here and there in a quilt as a perfect space filler that gives structure, a linear look to offset many curvy designs, or in a special place, such as in a basket, a vase or urn, the big center of a pieced block, parts of a landscape, etc. 

 

For quilting on a home sewing machine, keep the squares no larger than 3" and fill them in with the design.  This grid was 1 3/4" marked, but 2" works well too.  That way you are moving the quilt under the needle for short lines, easy to do, easy to keep those lines straight.  The spacing was a scant 1/4", easy to visualize as we use it all the time in piecing quilts.

 

When quilting the logs, look a bit ahead of the needle, keeping that space between the line you have already quilted and the one you are now quilting in your vision and keep that "puff" smooth and even.  Look at the space between the lines, not the lines, to get an even well-spaced design. 

 

Don't turn your quilt while quilting this.  Learn to quilt away from yourself, to the east and west as well as towards yourself.  If you try to do this design in a large quilt, even a wall quilt, you cannot turn it in the machine every time the line you are doing changes direction.   

 

Avoid running the machine too fast when doing this kind of work or stitches will get too small, as mine tended to do.  Your hands are going slower to do this, so stitches will pile up quickly as you concentrate on the lines, and quilt more slowly.

 

When you "run into" a design, ditch, another line of quilting (above in photo the echo lines around the leaves), stitch on the line to where you need to be to resume the line design.  This can get confusing sometimes, so if you don't know where to go, stop, look at the design, see where you need to go, maybe even place a dot or mark to help you judge where the next line will be.  This "layering" takes practice and a good eye to do smoothly, so it looks as if the grid design is continuing under the main design. 

 

Sometimes when you get to the final part in the center you will get more of a rectangle there instead of a little square.  Fine!  It's a rectangle and will add interest to the squares in the other places.  But think "why" did it happen.  Usually it is because the spacing of the logs of this design were not similar, so work on your consistency. 

 

Yes, I had rectangles too.  It happens.  :-)

 

Be sure and warm up first.  Practice some straight lines, square tops and bottoms as you stitch over to begin the next parallel line.  One stitch in place at a corner keeps it nice and sharp rather than curved corners.  You do not want curves in this design.

 

If you need to stop and breathe, or adjust hands, try doing it at a corner in the design, needle down.  When you begin quilting again, go slowly or raise the needle to the "up" position so you do not create a wobble when you resume quilting.  Do the lines in one smooth motion, looking to the end point and going to it. 

 

It's always ok to stop at a corner and take a moment, even a second or two, then proceed.

 

Tip!  The main grid is quilted "on point" or at a 45-degree angle to prevent distortion.  If you mark it on the grain you will run into distorted squares, fabric pleats, difficult times for sure.  Trust me on this.

 

Give this design a try.  It can be the focal point (done in contrast thread or shiny thread), or a background.  It would look wonderful as the final border on a quilt, a 5" border or the outside portion of a border.  It definitely would stabilize the border and keep it smooth and flat, and give a great linear frame to the entire quilt.

 

Keep quilting!  Your work gets better every day!

Diane

Autumn Leaves already?

 

Every year about this time the leaves turn glorious shades and begin falling, and I begin a quilt project inspired by the colors around me.  Above, detail from "Shadows of Umbria," made "just for me" one autumn, because I simply had to dig into my fabric and work with these colors.  I always do.

 

It has been so long since I've posted that I almost forgot I had a blog, but today I have some spare time and decided to check in and see what's going on in Blogland. 

I've been enjoying retirement, although it seems life is as busy as ever, but no travel deadlines for me now, no packing stacks of quilts, samples, and handouts.  Life is at my pace and that is good.  I'm keeping up with quilting, what is going on, new machines, fabrics, styles, people.  And every now and then Oliver and I spend some time at the machine doing a bit of quilting too.

 

 

 

Oliver turned 4 in August, and we celebrated with a bowl of fresh guacamole which he loved helping to prepare (he adores fresh veggies, especially sweet corn this year, the silk, of course).  His godfather visited and brought him a playstation that he uses many times every day and loves it. 

 

 

 

And adventures he has had!  He made his escape from the house for an entire hour one day by figuring out a way to slither through the opening in the sliding patio door.  I came down to see him OUTSIDE, looking IN!  He couldn't get back in on his own, and how he squeezed himself into that opening I'll never know, but now that has been revised and I believe he will stay in the house from now on.  I had a few new grey hairs from that little escapade, and perhaps his innards are slightly compressed too.

 

I visited Bigsby's Sewing Center in Elm Grove to see what's new, and had a great time with Riley, their saved kitten, now a large sweet cat, who showed me how to work an IPad.  He has a game where he chases the pink mouse and he even knows how to swipe the screen to go to the next game.  Ah, cats.  Smarter than we knew.

 

 

 

Recently I held a small class for two professional quilter friends and it was wonderful to experience teaching again.  We quilted, laughed, shared and had two good days at our machines.  During that time there were many things that came to mind about quilting and I will list some of them here for you to consider too:

 

I know this is something you have heard over and over, but clean and oil your machine (if oiling is appropriate for your brand/model) frequently if you quilt or sew often - I do it every 3 or 4 hours.  After a big project, be sure and do this thoroughly.  The bobbin area is especially important, get rid of lint and gunk, shine a light in there, and gently get all the lint, threads, "stuff" out.  Clean thread guides on top too.  Then add a drop of oil where metal rotates around metal in the bobbin/hook area, slowly run the machine to distribute it, and remove excess.  Quilt or sew a bit on a sample to work out any excess. 

 

 

Above, using my microbrush (or a cotton swab, and a brush is good too) to clean the hook area.  After all lint and gunk is removed I add a drop of fresh sewing machine oil here.  Note the warning on the machine telling operator to close the door!  I have to remind those in my classes to do this all the time.  Just shut this door and things will be good.

 

If you hear strange noises in the machine or suddenly your tension is not right and no matter what you do can't be adjusted, you might have something damaged in the bobbin area.  Stop; don't continue quilting if a noise alerts you or if stitches look bad.

 

In our class we discovered a metal part on the bobbin case had been damaged on an older Bernina.  Once it had been repaired the machine worked perfectly.  Many quilters have an extra bobbin case on hand or perhaps one comes with the machine and you can try that to see if it solves the problem.

 

Bobbins can become damaged or bent through use, over time.  Try a new one, wind it, see how that works before you assume the worst.

 

Don't always blame your skill level or inexperience for something that isn't working right on your machine.  It can be something very tiny, maybe that you can't see, that could be causing the problem.  Many times the simply re-threading top and bottom of machine, checking to make sure the bobbin is in correctly and wound correctly, cleaning in the bobbin area, all might fix the problem.  Replace the needle, try another spool of thread if you have one, a new bobbin wound with fresh thread.  All these things are tiny tiny problems but added up can cause huge issues with free motion machine quilting.

 

When you are shopping and see new exciting products, make sure they can be used in the way you plan.  That gorgeous thread might not work in the top of the machine, only the bobbin if at all.  What needle will work best with it?  Ask the people at the store for advice; a specialty quilt/sewing store will have trained people to help you. 

 

We had fallen in love with an assortment of threads, but Rosemary said it did not work well in the machine even though it would thread ok, the "twist" of the thread caused problems.  So we put that back and looked for other delightful choices.

 

Try something new with your quilting.  Set yourself a challenge to research and come up with a new technique or design that you can add to your next project.  This not only adds interest to the finished quilt, but keeps you interested in your quilting.  It's so much fun to draw something, figure out how to quilt it, make some samples, practice it until you are proficient, and use it in a real quilt. 

 

We tried some grid-based designs, zentangle ideas, freehand florals.  You need more than loopy backgrounds for quilting designs; some focal point motifs are important too.  Many floral designs can be done with some sketched in guidelines or a starting point, then add  freehand petals, details, leaves, echoes.

 

Below, a grid-based background I tried around a feather.  It appears to be on-grain squares, but in reality it is on-point squares stitched first, then each filled, one at a time, with a log cabin style spiral technique.  It was a bit tedious, went faster the more I did, and I love the finished look, so definitely will be adding this to my projects.

 

 

 

 

I hope you are taking some time for October's bright blue skies, and autumn leaves if you have them where you live.  It is one of the highlights of living in Wisconsin, the vistas of color as you make the turn in the road and see nature's glory for a fleeting time each fall.  Even a bright red leaf fallen on the sidewalk is a chance to marvel at color, composition, design. 

 

Enjoy, and keep quilting!  Your work gets better every day.

Diane

 

My Trip to Quilters Hall of Fame

 

Last weekend I travelled to Marion, IN to visit the Marie Webster House which is home to the Quilters Hall of Fame.  The highlight of the trip was the induction ceremony for Meredith Schroeder, AQS President, into the Quilters Hall of Fame, such a well-deserved honor. 

 

It was raining and thundering when I was there so didn't choose a good drenching in order to take photos outdoors.  The Star quilt exhibit by the American Quilt Study Group was fabulous, new interpretations of vintage quilts, plus some of the old ones on display too.  They were both hand and machine quilted, a pleasure to explore all their details.

 

The house has been beautifully restored, with its moldings, windows, gorgeous front door and leaded glass, and lovely ceramic framed fireplaces.  It is a perfect backdrop for the quilts on display, and the rain pattering on the windows, floors creaking a bit as I walked from room to room only added to the feeling of stepping back in time.

 

There were exhibits and classes for the event, including a special invitational exhibit of quilts that Meredith Schroeder assembled called MasterPieces.  I am very honored to have a quilt in this exhibit which will be seen in August at the AQS show in Grand Rapids, MI and later at the National Quilt Museum.  It is a spectacular exhibit with quilts from leaders in the quilting movement, so see it if you can.

 

 

 

The ceremony was happy, yet lots of teary eyes as we paid tribute to Meredith who has affected so many of is and our lives and careers in a very good way.  Her warmth and generosity and ethics, along with the skill to lead AQS have contributed so much to the quilt world.  We had towering fields of corn surrounding us, delicious IN food, and the joy of seeing old friends at such a momentous occasion. 

 

Now I am back home, re-inspired and grateful for the quilting experiences I have had.  Oliver missed me, is still running and chirping in happiness.  Time to start thinking of a new project.....

 

Next post I will answer some of your widespread questions on various subjects in your comments, all here in one place.

 

"Shadow Leaves"

 

Keep quilting! It gets better every day....

Diane 

Return to Provence

 

 

"Return to Provence" ~ Diane Gaudynski 2013

 

The entire quilt, above, is 14 3/4" square, quilted with YLI #100 silk thread on gold silk dupioni, Pellon Legacy wool batt.  The designs are based on my miniature quilt, A Visit to Provence.  Below is a detail so you can see scale:

 

 

Although the motifs are small, it was fun to quilt.  The backgrounds were time consuming as always, but in miniature even more so.  However, I like the finished result and will let you know when this available for bidding for the AAQI Celebrity Invitational Auction this fall.

 

Because I hadn't quilted much in over a year, just some samples, I didn't know if the ease and fluidity of it would be there, or would I struggle and make errors.  I think if you have machine quilted for a long enough time so that you don't have to think about it as you quilt, so that it is a natural process for you, it will be part of muscle memory and the slightest nudge to your brain will wake all that up and you will be back quilting as you were before. 

 

If you are a beginner and stop for long periods, you will probably have to do some re-learning and practice to get back to where you were.  It's something that is different for everyone, some seem so natural at it right away, and some struggle and practice but eventually master free motion.  Know yourself, what works for you. 

 

I highly recommend working on real quilts right away, not practicing forever.  I did that, never worried I'd ruin a quilt, planned each one to use techniques I could do and tried at least one new thing in each so I could build my skills and the variety of quilting techniques I could do on each top.

 

One invaluable tool for me has always been layering a prototype, and quilting on that first.  The same fabrics/batt/backing as in the real quilt in a big enough sample so I can really warm up and get the feel of the quilt, choose thread colors, practice a few motifs before I switch to the real quilt.

 

Below is my prototype that I knew was sorely needed for this new piece.  I began by doing a few freehand feathers that would be the size for the outer wreath, getting those familiar and smooth, with several shades of thread so I could see what looked best to me. 

 

 

The first quilting I did is right at the bottom, and I used chartreuse thread.  It looks fine, but......to me it looks like the blue marker I used for parts of the marked areas didn't wash out completely and stained the thread.  No matter how I looked at it that's how it appeared in my eyes, and I wondered if others would think, whoa, she used gold thread and the marker didn't come out!

 

The other objection to the chartreuse thread was these feathers have backtracking, two lines of stitching right on top of one another, and the green was so much more noticeable in these areas when compared to the next bit of sample feathers I quilted in matching gold silk thread.

 

Because I wanted this quilt to be classic, I decided to use the gold thread.

Then I experimented with gold Sparkle thread, a blend of fine gold metallic and gold #100 silk.  I liked it but it was fraying.  I used a larger needle, a #80 Jersey ball point, and all was well.  I liked it with one row of echo, then Sparkle, then back to silk.  Of course I tried out many variations of this! 

 

Later I tried some colored pencils and shaded the quilting a bit, but decided in the end I liked it without better.  Again, more classic.  You can see a bit of the shading on the rabbit in the prototype.

 

All this left me forgetting to be tense about my quilting; in fact, I didn't even think about it.  I was focused on the color of thread, how the machine was working, everything else except my quilting.  Because of this I believe I was so relaxed that my quilting was as good as it has ever been.  Compared to some I did for the original quilt in '03 on that prototype, it is better quilting. 

 

That made me feel so optimistic and relaxed, I started on the real quilt, knowing I would use the prototype space to do a few clamshells, try out the other backgrounds and motifs before doing them on this miniature.

 

The backing of the quilt is cotton, a Moda fabric from the Wuthering Heights collection, in a dusty teal floral.  I used gold silk thread in the bobbin as well so the shadowing of the gold on teal makes for a very pretty quilt back, below.

 

 

 

While I was quilting I noticed the fan was blowing the silk thread out of the first vital guide, right before the tension discs.  I attached a small pin, below, and threaded that to keep it in line.  Worked perfectly, plus I was cool with the breeze gently fanning my face.

 

 

Soon I'll post some tips for quilting that I think are something to keep in mind.  The biggest tip?  Keep quilting....your work gets better every day!

Diane

 

 

Quilting Again

 

Yes, quilting again!  A deadline approached and I entered the Forbidden Room with Oliver where he camped out nearby to help me with a quilt project.  Marking is never fun, but new markers and an old clamshell tool from www.thimbleworks.com did the trick beautifully.  Oliver knocked the markers off the table several times and watched me search and retrieve with that intensity only a cat can have.

 

Two weeks ago as summer finally arrived I realized that the small quilt I promised to make for this year's AAQI Celebrity Auction is due very very soon, yikes.  The auction will be online this November; I'll give you the details later when I make sure of dates, etc.  But trust me, from the list of names making quilts I know you will want to bid and bid early and often so you can claim one of the beautiful quilts.

 

 

Above, my 15" square miniature quilt, marked, layered, and pinned.  Ready for the machine!  The top is a beautifully luxurious gold silk dupioni with minimal slubs, very smooth and pretty, and I used YLI #100 silk thread for the quilting, which is tiny and exacting, and yes I needed a magnifier. 

 

I used Pellon Legacy wool batt, and a scrumptious perfect dusty teal Moda cotton from the Wuthering Heights 3 Sisters Collection.  I'll try and get a photo of the back of the quilt, as I like it equally well as the front.

 

I did make a small prototype, practiced my feathers, checked thread colors.  I'll write about that a bit later when I get more photos taken.  It helps so much, not only showing you in real life how the thread color looks, the one you were planning on but now can see isn't quite right after all.  My muscle memory woke up, and quilting was easy and beautiful, the best news I could have after not working on a real quilt for over a year.  This skill does not go away. 

 

Oliver got into more trouble, hiding from me and making me search the house for half an hour, wondering if somehow I had let him outdoors?  I sensed his eyes on me when I went into the kitchen, turned, and saw the white spot of his fur in our wine cupboard that for once had an empty shelf!  Perfect spot to fit his body, a 2009 Oliver, smooth and sweet with that hint of smoky naughtiness!

 

 

I quilted a few hours a day for a little longer than a week.  There are designs marked on this miniature quilt, the vines and animals, but I did all the feathers freehand as always.  It is based on my miniature quilt A Visit to Provence.  My sketch of the feathers and vines in that quilt has been lost so I referred to my photo and came up with something similar, with the addition of my Rabbit, and signature sleeping cat instead of the urn from the original.

 

There was no room for an outer border so I filled the corners with delightfully tiny clamshells, 1/4" Diane-shiko, and some very tiny stippling for the odd spaces.

 

It is bound and finished, titled Return to Provence.  I love it.  I look at it and like to keep looking at it, for me the true test of a successful design.  I hate to ship it off for the auction and say goodbye, but I know it will go to a good home and give others pleasure.

 

Below are some details of the quilt, and I'll post the full photo soon when my camera battery recharges.  I used one line of echo quilting around the main designs with Sparkle Silk thread for a hint of gleam.

 

 

Clamshells in upper right corner, above.

 

My hands are sore, but better, and it was wonderful to be at the machine again.  I hope to make more small projects soon, in a leisurely way.  Thanks for all your comments on "retirement" - it's good not to have the travel and pressure of teaching, but I do miss seeing all those talented bright funny students.  I hope you are all doing well with your work, sneaking in some quilting time when you can. 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, keep quilting!  Your work gets better every day.....

Diane



 

Off the Grid

 

Oliver and I have been "off the grid," as they say in one of my favorite tv shows, "MI-5."  I keep thinking I blogged about one thing or another, or checked in and commented on your feedback, but I guess I have not been in the blog state of mind lately, so I apologize but retirement is sort of becoming my way of life.  Those of you who have retired know what I mean!

 

Spring has arrived finally, although the past holiday weekend was cool, and today very rainy.  We are living in a green-out of lush foliage and blooming trees, so pretty.  I've had some down time from chronic illness, and haven't been quilting, but every now and then an idea pops into my head.  I hope to share some of them with you here soon.

 

I did go to the AQS quilt show in Paducah, had a good time, talked to many quilters and old friends.   It's wonderful to see so many familiar names with quilts in the show, many with awards.  I am always so proud of the work you all are doing.

 

The Celtic Bubbles tutorial was fun and now having many of you send me photos of what you've done is terrific!  I just knew this design could be adapted to whatever style you like or need for a particular quilt, and I was correct.  It's also something that most can learn to do, and see dramatic results right away. 

 

If you have any questions about it, please comment on this post and I'll try and answer them.  I know many of you are adapting the spirals so you can make more than one at a time, but for me the "one and done" works so well to keep the formal look, and keep them all consistent. 

 

Oliver is exhausted today; he was up all night watching out the windows for the reappearance of a visiting raccoon that came to the front step under the porch light.  Oliver made a symphony of cat noises that would wake the dead, fluffed out his fur so he was almost as big as the raccoon, and his tail stayed inflated for at least half an hour. 

 

It is his job to protect his house, his people, his territory, so he guarded all night and is sleeping today.  I hope the raccoon will not come back.

 

Watched a delightful movie last night, "Salmon Fishing in Yemen," and now it's time for vacation to be over.

 

Hope to do a quilting post soon, so don't give up on me.  Meanwhile, keep quilting, your work gets better every day.....!

 

Diane