A Name and More Shrinkage

Forgive the uneven lighting

Here it is on my bed - my fabulous fat quarter quilt nearly 20 years in the making! Yes, not much of an overhang but that's not an issue for me. I was just pleased that it dropped over the edges of the bed at the border.

It took an overnight soak in 20 Mule Team Borax and two washes with hour-long rinse cycle soaks with vinegar added to finally get all the cigarette smoke odor out. But I think I did. Didn't put it in the dryer though as one internet suggestion warned against it. Instead, I spread it out in the livingroom to airdry with a fan moving air over it. Here's the back showing the two reproduction fabrics on either side of the Dutch reproduction border fabric - I love it as much as the front!

I'd forgotten that when quilting the main part of the top, I'd left a lot of tails in the back to bury. I found most of them before the wash but found several more afterward. It's like this quilt refuses to be fully finished.

After I'd done this overall paisley quilting as an experiment, I was disappointed in it and wished I'd just quilted like I normally do - lots of stitching in the ditch and straight lines. And it bothers me a bit that changing bobbin thread to match the backing as I moved over the dark strips at the sides was not a practical option.

However, when I got it out again to quilt the border, I was surprised to now kind of like it. I was reminded of what Angela Walters always says about not worrying if you make mistakes or your stitches aren't even because when done, all you'll see is the beautiful texture. She's turning me into a believer. And goodness, can you actually see that tiny sliver of piping in the binding? Not sure what I was thinking to make it so narrow (maybe the widest I could do with the fabric left?). It's almost a conversation piece and I'm playing in my head what my descendants will make of it - lol. Certainly not necessary but all the same, a nice little accent.

All that was left now was to ink in a little information on the back. (Boy am I glad I don't have to sew a sleeve on!) I've been calling this my fat quarter quilt because its true name picked so many years ago is so very long. The original pattern was called "Hot Apple Cider" no doubt because of it cider-colored palette. But my palette reminded me of something else so I decided to call it "Blueberry Jam and Toast . . . With Eggs Over Easy!" I always use a Pigma Micron Pen when writing on fabric which is not always easy, the felt nibs catching in the weave. I've been seeing a lot about Pigma's newish PN pens - same permanent archival ink but with a plastic nib (thus the PN designation), so picked one up on a recent trip to Michael's. Oh My Goodness! It glides right over the fabric and leaves a beautiful line of ink.

Wool batting sample hand quilted on left, machine quilted on right

I'd measured this quilt before binding in order to estimate the amount of binding I would need and it measured 87" x 69" which was a little bit of a surprise. Before quilting it had measured 89-1/2" x 71, and while I am used to a quilt shrinking up a bit from quilting, this was more than usual, no doubt because of the density of the quilting. But since it has been so long since I've finished a piece that would be washed, I totally forgot about the additional shrinkage from the batting, and I lost a lot. Now my quilt measured 83 x 67-1/2. At one point in my traditional quilting journey, I got into making batting samples per Harriet Hargrave, the ultimate source for all things technical and otherwise having to do with batting. Few surprises, she offered, if you've taken the time to do a batting sample which among other things, will tell you how much shrinkage to expect when washed. I divided my samples in half, machine stitching on one side and hand stitching on the other (because it makes a difference sometimes in how much is drawn in). Out of curiosity, I dug out the one I did for the Hobbs Wool Batting I used in this quilt (above).

Total shrinkage of this sample: 6.5 - 7%

On the back side you record all the pertinent information: type of batting, type of fabric, if anything has been prewashed, starting size, size after quilting and size after washing. And there it is, a really high percentage of shrinkage with this wool batting (most cotton battings run around 3%). On a smaller piece it might not matter, but if you are planning a quilt for a bed that drops a certain amount over the sides, you'd do well to know how much shrinkage to expect and figure dimensions accordingly. You can lose 3 to 7 inches before you know it.

Over the years, I've settled into using pretty much the same few battings that give the different looks I want and that I am so familiar with how they behave so I haven't made a batting sample in a long time. I still have my stack of samples from when I was trying almost everything that was out there, and every now and then, pull them out for reference if I need a reminder of how a particular batting looks and drapes when quilted. Would I spend the time to make up a sample if I find a new batting to try? I should but I'd probably just sandwich up that quilt and hope for the best!

A Little Spring, A Little Binding

Spring is finally ramping up although the temps are still cool and overnight it is still in the 30's. Still, that hasn't stopped the birches behind my place from doing their spring thing (above), neighborhood trees from blossoming and daffodils and hyacinths from bursting forth around the building where I went to early vote. It is all very uplifting.

Also uplifting is getting that binding on my fat quarter quilt. Here's a trick I picked up a long time ago, don't remember where, but I find it an excellent way to keep those long lengths of binding from getting tangled as you add them if, like me, you don't pin the binding on before starting to sew. You just fold the binding accordion style and thread the folds onto a large safety pin. This sits in your lap as you apply the binding, and as you need more, you just remove one fold from the safety pin.

As I turned the sewn-on binding to the back and pinned, I could view how evenly that bit of piping/flange showed. Not perfect, a few places where it is narrower than in others, but overall I am quite pleased, thinking "close enough for jazz." And I am also pleased with those corners where I lapped the piping rather than included them on the binding for a miter. If you click on the picture for a larger view, you can just make out the stitching along the binding seam which I did in a gold thread that matches the gold fabric well.

Doing the second thought thing, I wondered if I really should have done the piping between the border and the quilt top rather than in the binding. Nevertheless, it does give the edge a nice pop of color. Now for a good soak in vinegar and a wash. 

And since it's Mother's Day, and I've been back to scanning old slides, here's one from 1955 of little me being held by my mom, and her mother, my grandmother standing on the other side. My grandparents died when I was about 5 so I don't have many memories of them or photos either so this one feels very special.

Piping or Flange?

I'd stopped by my local quilt shop to pick up some needles and got to chatting with the owner about this quilt and my tentativeness about adding the piping. She was quick to suggest that I merely needed to sew the piping to the binding so that the two could be applied to the quilt in one step. She took me over to a wall quilt on display to show me the flange that had been added in the binding. Yes, flange. She kept saying flange; I kept saying piping. Granted my piping which will show just 1/8th of an inch has no filling so may not technically be a piping, but the flange on this shop sample was very wide (more than a 1/4 inch less than a half?) so I could see why she kept referring to it as a flange. Couldn't resist a google and it appears that size may indeed be the difference between piping and flange, piping being narrow, flange being wide.

Be that as it may, I just couldn't bring myself to sew the piping to the binding first, mostly because of the bulk it might create at the mitered corners. I plan to machine sew the binding from the front after it has been turned to the back, and getting into those corners at the miters is tricky enough. But also because I don't trust myself to keep all layers even since so little of the piping will be showing. I guess it's another case of control for me. The piping is now machine basted in place and we'll see how evenly I can get that binding sewn over it.

A Little Embarrassing

A few weeks ago I got the word from the management company I rent from that there's a city ordinance requiring the flappers in toilets in rental properties to be replaced after a certain amount of time and our buildings had reached that magic number. So I was required to set up a time for the maintenance man to come by and do it to my three toilets, a quick repair, but one that made me realize I had some extra cleaning and picking up to do before he arrived. If you live alone, you understand how easy it is to let some housework slide and boy had I let it slide lately, what with the issues with my back. Plus two of the bathrooms are on the second floor with the stairs and landing having served as a dumping ground for things that needed to go upstairs or into the studio but not right away. Yeah, I even procrastinate on that and now I needed to make that stuff disappear to where it was intended. What's more, one of the upstairs bathrooms I don't really use as a bathroom since it is off the master bedroom which I use as a studio. I've delegated it for my paints and stamping supplies and boy, did I have stuff stacked all over the floor and on the toilet seat and tank where he needed to get in to work. While I've had years to hone my storage system for my quilting things, I've failed to get a handle on organizing these newer mixed media supplies. Thus, picking up and putting things out of sight in there was not unlike the archeological digs I encounter whenever I clear my work table. Oh...THAT'S where that went to. Hmm - forgot I saved those things. Oh yeah, here's something I set aside to be stenciled. And when I opened the cupboard under the sink to put away the organizer that holds among other things my paint brushes, I was dumbfounded to see a very large bottle of matte medium! I have no recollection of buying it, obviously, since I recently related to you how I gave in and bought some to try with my collage since everyone raves about it. Yeah, a little embarrassing!

Also a little embarrassing is the way I continue to drag my feet over finishing the fat quarter quilt. To be honest, I'm letting that piping intimidate me unnecessarily - not like the first time I've ever done it. But at least like the binding, it is pieced and pressed in half, ready to go. But the real foot dragging has been because of the terrible cigarette smoke smell that arose from the quilt after I dampened it in preparation for trimming. It had to go out into the garage to air for quite a bit before I could bring it back in and square it up. I'm still a little stumped about the smell, although I know it was picked up in that quilt shop where I taught the class so many years ago. The shop was next door to a bar, and even though the owner had air filters going, anything that stayed in that shop long soon picked up the smell. I know I washed all the fabrics before construction and no doubt used a little steam from the iron now and then when pressing that should have alerted me to any lingering smell. All I can figure is that it must have absorbed some of the odor while hanging in the shop, but not such that one would smell it until dampened. What a shock. Once I get the binding on, you can bet I'll be doing a deep soaking with vinegar and thorough washing before this goes on my bed.

Easter Greetings

To those of you who celebrate, a blessed Easter. I also understand it's Ramadan and Passover, three major religions celebrating their individual major events at the same time (it doesn't happen that often). To everyone else, happy spring! Still doesn't look like spring in my neck of the woods (just south of us about an hour away they got up to a foot of snow the other day, and even more as you continue further south down the Idaho panhandle). But the arrival of these tulips from my niece, Vanessa, brought instant brightness to my days.

She sent chocolate too - how cute are these handcrafted hand-painted "eggs"? Worthy of the calories!

The tulips arrived just as this spring bouquet from my cousin Laura was starting to fade. I've been enjoying them for several weeks and they were the perfect tonic to my not quite winter not quite spring blues.

Wishing you beauty and brightness and the promise of hope and new life wherever you may be.

An Unusual Approach

Monstera Delisioso by Heidi Jung - sumi ink & charcoal on Mylar on Panel

Don't have anything to show for the week save getting my taxes finalized and making my way through a few more of a backlog of magazines. A January/February 1921 issue of Artists Magazine introduced me to Heidi Jung, and I doubt I have to tell you why I am drawn to her work.

"When we meet a work of art, there’s something about that encounter that isn’t fixed in time, but rather, it unfixes time: the shaft opens. The past and present exist in the same moment, and we know, as beings, that we are connected. All the people who lived before us, all who will come after us, are connected in this moment." Ali Smith

I guess that is a little what happened to me as I paged through her work featured in the article "Giving Nature Her Due", unfortunately not available on line. And her interpretation of different plants, often without color, took my breath away. Doesn't happen all that often. But then I needed to know how she did it and found she is using sumi ink and charcoal on Mylar in a process that hearkens back to her earlier work developing film in a darkroom. If you check out her website, I suggest you look at "installations" under the Portfolio menu where you can see her art hanging in situ as well as in exhibitions. Then take a look at Gallery 1 for more of these sumi ink on Mylar works. She also does acrylic on panel which can be seen in the other Galleries - all ethereal and beautiful to my eyes.

Exceptionalism Art Journal Spread

 

I think I'm done fiddling with this art journal spread. Here it is with the two things I used to help "blend" the collage elements and text: Inktense colored pencils and water soluble graphite pencil, two things I don't play with often enough. I'd been thinking a lot lately about the idea of "exceptionalism", and that while most would envy someone thought to be exceptional in some way, the person who is seen as exceptional often experiences an isolation not to be envied and difficult to break out of. Speaking from experience here although what I've noted people have thought exceptional about me is really not that exceptional.

And then I ran across an article in Smithsonian Magazine about Brunhilde of Wagner's Valkyrie fame and her sister-in-law Fredegund who were not just Norse legend but actual queens ("The Medieval Queens Whose Daring, Murderous Reigns Were Quickly Forgotten" January 2022 issue). As I read through their history and drank in that fabulous opening illustration, I had my beginnings of a spread on exceptionalism using two very strong women as examples. "A queen had to dodge assassins, and employ some of her own, while combating the open misogyny of her advisers and nobles—the early medieval equivalent of doing it all backwards and in heels." And ruling through a male relative. The yellow you see around Brunhild is Inktense pencil.

With Randy Newman's "It's Lonely At The Top" lyrics playing in my head, I built upon this idea of the exceptional being placed on a pedestal, either being adored or hated. Fredegund was in such a precarious position at the top; her predecessor was strangled after catching Fredegund,a slave girl, in bed with the King and going off in a huff. Ahh, palace life. By now strains of another song about popularity were coming to mind. These I inked in various open places on the spread.

I added these disapproving and one approving heads and used the water soluble graphite to outline them and then a damp paint brush to spread the graphite into a dark background cloud. "Some of them want to use you. Some of them want to be used by you."

A final touch - adding some small characters along the paths - the "little people" who take little notice of those above as they simply try to eke out an existence and hope the rulers don't do anything rash to upset it.

Either way, always a separation that is difficult to close. As for our queens after they died, "With their accomplishments cut from official histories, the queens took root in legends and myths," a different kind of exceptionalism but no less lonely I suspect. Do read the article; it is full of interesting twists and turns. 

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