The DMC Crazy Quilt Commission, Part 3: Captions and Inner Vine

Because I used a scrapbook page as my inspiration for this quilt that captures our Paris trip from DMC, I wanted to put some captions under each photo.  And because it is now time to weave all the elements of the quilt together, I added the inner vine around the central image.  There's going to be an outer vine growing around the photos next.

To make the captions, I used a black Pental Gel Roller for Fabric  pen  size 1.0.  I tried several permanent marking pens, but this one has no bleed and gives a nice solid line.
Next I interfaced the tightweave cotton I had written on, then added a layer of lightweight Mistyfuse.

I fused them each in place under their picture, and buttonholed them with 2 strands of DMC Satin Floss.  It is rayon and glimmery.  ;-)

Then it was time for the Memory Thread vine.  That stuff is so great!

You bend it into the shape you want and it "remembers" it.  Here I have my vine pinned into place for couching.

Then I couched it down with single machine thread, and filled in the leaves with cotton DMC Color Variations floss.

I wanted this vine to be subtle, hence the tone-on-tone with the background fabrics.

I had bought some cool little vintage flower sequins at a flea market on the trip...

Here's Mary taking it all in, including that tired little boy with his mom and dad...

And my haul from that day...

That vintage trim has a role to play later in this commission...

Anyways, flower sequins!

I sewed them on with some little clear beads and crystals.

So now I am here....

The outer vine is definitely going to be the grand finale....! You just know I am going to pull out some of my pretty fabric flowers from M & S Schmalberg.....

Broderie Perse CQ....Progress

July was spent traveling!
I have gotten it down, how to stitch while jammed in a middle seat on an airplane between two perfect strangers.

It's a matter of having all your threads in one plastic bag, and your tools in another, both on your lap with the stitching on the tray table.  Sharon Boggon's CQ stencils have been invaluable.
My Broderie Perse CQ has been the project of the summer.

I've actually gotten a fair amount done.
The stitching is very simple, almost spare.  This quilt has so many elements and is so busy already that the stitching has to play a supporting role, not a starring one.

I've been wondering how the heck I am going to quilt this.  I suppose I could tie it from the back.  This is going to be a functional bed quilt, so maybe it can be more like a comforter, with really nice puffy batting.   That could work!

Here is the whole quilt pinned up on the design wall.
I'm going to have to take it down for a few weeks though.  My dear friend Michele Muska is writing a book, and has asked me to contribute a project to it.
I won't be able to post about it, but here is my jumping off point.

You just know it's going to be a blast, working with these colors.

See you in a few weeks...and Happy August!

"Pretty Crazy" Class Sample Embroidered

I am home from my trip and my travel preparations of my 4 block class sample paid off...not a single bit of fraying occurred, my blocks stayed nicely sewn together, all was well for the embroidery.

I kept the stitching simple, as this is a sample for the Essential Crazy Quilt Stitches classes that I will be teaching in the next several months.  And you know what?  Sometimes, simple is great!  There is no "bling" on this project, just stitching like in the old days....of course, they didn't have the beautiful hand dyed variegated threads from all over the world to play with like we do....

What was also fun about this project was combining such disparate fabrics: feedsacks, 30's repros, silk brocade, quilters cotton...and of course, the various trims added so much to the mix.
And that is what crazy quilting is all about, for me...the mix.....

Herringbone Hearts...Anatomy of a Border

There was this experiment I just had to try.
I've been wanting to see just how far I could push the use of a single stitch in a crazy quilt, to put a greater focus on the threads and use of the supplies in general within the context, of well..... herringbone, without the distraction of the visuals caused by lots of combination stitches.
And this push of my personal CQ envelope involved some 38 mm silk ribbon. And pliers!

I started by laying out the "base" fabrics for the border, green silk that had been interfaced and then the edges sewn because it is very ravel-y and was going to be subject to some heavy stitching abuse.

I measured the distance across the quilt every 12" or so to make sure my strips were parallel as I pinned them on.  I knew that I had to applique them as I would never be accurate enough otherwise.  No turned under seam was necessary though, as it would be covered by trim later.

May the quality control expert took a break to look out the window while I was sewing on the green silk.
Then came the trim.

I got this green woven metallic trim off of Ebay from a seller of Indian sari silks.  There are lots of great trims to be found on Ebay!  I liked it for this quilt because it has hearts in it, and the metallic would add some shine.
So I pinned it in place...

....with many extra pins where the trim would cover the Evil Velvet.  Otherwise, no matter what, the trim would slip while I was sewing it down.
Ha, you velvet!  I own you.....

Corners are always a big deal in quilting--no avoiding that fact.  So I did my best to miter these neatly.

I forgot to photograph running that line of brown herringbone along the upper edge of the trim after it was sewn on.  I was too excited to try my experiment, using really wide silk ribbon in a herringbone stitch.  This is 38 mm from Dharma that I dyed.  It has a woven edge; it's not bias cut.  I needed it that way because it would shred as I pulled it through the silk otherwise.  But this ribbon, in a giant needle and pulled through with pliers for each stitch, held up perfectly fine.
It is really puffy, isn't it?

It was so big and wide that I used my finger as a laying tool as I pulled my stitches into place!

After the 38mm ribbon was on, I went back and wrapped the herringbone stitch above it along the trim.  I was going for more of a raised look and added just a little more color, to blend in with the stitching on the blocks.

This definitely changes the look and feel of the quilt.  It is exceedingly textural now.

In this picture I have ironed under the base border fabric and pinned it.  I will back the quilt later but this is about how it will look finished (squared up better though.)  I have to be very careful with the iron around that puffy herringbone because one false move and it is flat forever.

I'm going to be away teaching the next two week-ends so it will be a little while before I am back here..but I'll keep in touch by reading your blogs and will be posting to Facebook along the way as I travel to Santa Cruz, California and Olympia, Washington.  See you soon!

Herringbone Hearts

I decided to change the name of this 9 block heart project because the only stitch I am using is the herringbone.

I am starting to get to know this stitch...have you ever heard about how in music conservatories, beginning students are told to play just one note over and over for long periods, so that they can gradually learn to hear the whole spectrum of sounds within it?  I am feeling a little like that with this stitch: the repetition is teaching me about embroidery in a new way.  The herringbone has yet to reveal itself entirely to me...or maybe...I just love the herringbone stitch the best!

Anyway, I am almost done embroidering all nine hearts, but it has been awhile since I posted, so here is one of the finished ones...

I do love that 13mm silk ribbon from River Silks around the perimeter of the heart!  One spool just barely makes it all the way around...

Back to my herringbone now....   ;-)