Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Steady As They Go - Follow Up


This morning, I am happy to say, I presented a well received Quilting 101 at the Crosstown Quilters Guild; the topic was how I transform my photos into art quilts. (In this guild, members often present mini quilt lessons or Quilting 101s. For example, last month a member shared her passion for scrap quilts and offered suggestions on storage and how to use all of those precious scraps. )

There were questions this morning about my latest piece which I promised I would answer in this post. "Steady As They Go" hangs very straight and flat. In January, our guest speaker at the guild was Nina Hunt whose topic was "Color to Impress, Design to Delight." After her talk, I asked her how she got her quilts to be so straight and perfect. She told me that she applied a piece of deco bond stabilizer to the back of the top, and so I did this with my latest piece. Next, I used a layer of Dream Fusion batting. At this point, I did all of my quilting. I stitched down each and every element on the top with a tiny zigzag stitch in a corresponding thread color. Later, I applied a false back to hide that stitching. I attached the false back by simply stitching in the ditch some of the larger seam lines.

I liked the addition of the deco bond stabilizer and would use it again in certain pieces. I would not use it if for example I was doing a flower piece as I would want that piece to be, technical term here . . . .  more puffy. :-) On second thought, perhaps I would quilt the top with the batting and then add a layer of deco bond. . . something to consider.


My next big decision was how to finish the quilt; add a frame, face it, or use a simple binding? I went with a simple binding using a light grey to charcoal ombre which I carefully pieced to place the dark charcoal along the bottom and gradually becoming lighter as it came up the sides and across the top.


Here's the label on the back of the quilt.  I discovered a new $.99 ap called PicFrame for your iPhone or iPad which allows you to make collages.  I selected a three part frame. On the bottom, I put a honeymoon photo from 1945; beside it I placed the photo that was the basis for this piece. Across the top, I placed four labels with pertinent info. Again, this ap is super simple to use. I emailed it to myself and printed out a 5x7" label on Jacquard Inkjet Printing Cotton. I have tried various brands of photo printing materials, and I find this brand to be by far the best. I had tested various products when I was starting my crazy quilt piece, Simpler Times - Photos from My Grandmother's Album.


I think that answers the questions, but if not, you may leave any questions in the comment section.

Now, about the pink tulip photo above. This just may be my next 'photo' quilt.  This sole, pretty little tulip was swaying in the wind Sunday when I grabbed a quick shot with my iPhone. I'll document my progress here.

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1 comment:

  1. That tulip is beautiful and would make a terrific next project! Thanks for sharing your process with us!

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