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April 2017

Some inspiration from the Stitches and Craft Show

I was trying to rationalize the photos on my phone and came across a group that I had taken at the show.  (I had a concussion at the time and don't even know how I got to or from the place.)  There were a number of displays and I know that this one took my fancy.   It was a group of small quilts by Maxine Fry.

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Some of her work reminds me of Gwen Marsden and it was these pieces that I liked best.  In the exhibition the 'process' of her work was on display.  From the torn paper mock ups.

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To the prototype.

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To a finished small quilt.

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What a great way to refine a design.


Inserting and joining piping in a seam

The most common time that you want to put piping into a seam is usually around the edge of a pillow and there are lots of good tutorials on You Tube for this.  But for the embroiderer sometimes the scale is a whole lot smaller, as in pin cushions.  The diameter of this one is only 3".    (There is no way I would go any smaller than this.)

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You could just cross over the ends of the piping but it you want an invisible join it isn't that easy and is certainly not for the faint hearted.  In fact I probably should have put piping at the bottom join as well to make this look balanced  but as this is only a demonstration I chickened out and only did the top edge.  It is the small size of this piece that raises the level of difficulty.  So how do you do it?

I start by selecting a couple of contrasting fabrics.  Once for the main and a contrast for the piping.  I allow extra for the seam allowance, usually 1/4" and cut 2 circles for the top and bottom and a strip about 3" wide for the sides.  Once you put the top and sides together you can adjust the height.

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Select a width of cord that is in proportion to the piece you are making.  My cord is fine. I laid this around the line I drew on the back of the top and bottom circles.  I make it a little bigger to give myself some  margin for error. (I do this by laying it on the outside of my line.)

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  I cut my contrast fabric on the bias 1" wide and attach one end in the middle of the bias binding.   This is just to hold it in place. (I will remove these stitches later.)

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Fold the bias strip in half to enclose the cord and stitch about 1/4" from the edge.  Again, this just holds the cord in place, you are not stitching up close at this stage.

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Mark the centre of your cord with a pin.

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Pin the covered cord around the edge of the top circle, pining either side and working out from the centre mark, on the right side of your fabric Inside the line of machining and snip your edges to allow the piping to stretch around the circle.

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.  Check that you are matching this to the line your have drawn on the back.

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Continue until you are able to join the covering fabric.  You will need to keep the ends of the cord out of the way and join with a bias seam so that the fabric will measure exactly.  Take time to do this.  Rushing will just mean unpicking.

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The next step is to join the cord.  On a pillow you could just butt the ends together and sew around your piping but on this you have to butt the ends together and then darn the join.    If you join it with a seam it is just too bulky and if you join it in the usual manner the ends come apart because the curve is so tight .  Nothing else for it than the darning.

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Sew the binding edges together and pin in place.

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  Now tack that covered piping to the top circle. Compare the pinned image above to the image below.  You can see how much better that piping sits.  This will make sewing the piping in position far easier and it will be a lot more accurate.

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Sew the piping in position on your tacking line.  That is inside your line of machining.  This will make your piping sit better in the casing and give you a reference line when you come to join the side. Trim up your edges so that they are all neat.  Remove your tacking.


Join the seam in the side piece to make a tube and pin in position.

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If your are new to this I would suggest tacking the edges of your top circle with the binding attached and the sides as well.  These edges are known to move.  Sew around the edge using the stitching line that is there as you guide.

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  I normally stitch one needle width inside this.Your piece will look something like this.  Now is the time your can adjust the height to suit.

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Sew the bottom circle to the sides.  (This is a lot easier without the piping.) Nick the edges to allow the seam to sit better.

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Open your side seam enough to allow you to pull the fabric through to the right side.  Stuff if fibrefill or what ever filling you select.  Close the opening with a ladder stitch.  (Gee I'm glad that is finished.)

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This is a lot easier if your piece is larger.  Darning the piping cord ends together before your cover the cord will give you a better finish  that isn't bulky and you will not see the join or the raw ends.

 

 


War Quilts - 4

There was one small quilt, the only one in the exhibition, made by a woman.  She used her husbands old uniform from the Boar War, to make a quilt for her baby.   It wasn't fancy, just a geometric pattern but it was beautifully pieced.  It was hung in an odd corner so wasn't all that easy to see but there seemed to be something about it that caught my attention.

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The card with it suggested to because she was a Methodist she probably didn't want to waste the fabric.

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Somehow that doesn't seem to ring true.  Flora would have been of the same era as my own grandmothers.  They had already been through 2 depression in the late 1800's and I know that they made an impact on them.  .  To attribute her reason for making the quilt to just one cause seems a bit simplistic.  Then there is the fact that the quilt has survived in perfect condition.  I feel there was a lot more than just economic reasons for making this quilt.

And just an update on the Selesian Quilt I wrote about in War Quilts 1.  The applique at the bottom of the quilt depicted an old German children's song and my friend Angela has sent me a copy of that song.

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I think that I have got the translation right for the first 2 verses but the last line in the 3rd verse just isn't right.

"Fox, you have stolen the goose, give it back otherwise the hunter will get you with the shooting gun.

His big long rifle.  He will shoot you and you will be stained with red ink and then you will be dead.

Dear little vixen let friends guess she is not just a thief.   (this is the part that I'm not sure of.) Take, need not roast goose, with the mouse do."

I can't see any mouse in that applique. 

Thinking more about it I think it means "Don't think about roast goose just stick to mice."

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WIPW

Too much time spent teaching and not enough on my own work, or that is how it feels.  It is Easter this coming weekend and I am teaching the following week.  Still I love teaching and I keep coming up with new ways to teach old techniques.

So the only work I have done is a little stitching on a prototype.  I like this gentle type of design that you see in modern Japanese stitching so I thought I would have a go at designing some of my own.  I have decided to just use DMC stranded cotton for these pieces,  there will be three in this set.  To be a bit different I decided to use  2 strand of cotton for the lettering and Portuguese Stem stitch.  I think it could have looked just as good in Back stitch or stem stitch, but that was too easy. 

All the rest of the stitching will be done in 1 stand of DMC cotton and I am experimenting with stitching in layers.  This is something different for me so I am enjoying the experience.

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Zippered bag tutorial

I am late with today's post as I have been teaching all weekend and have more classes this week.  I tried to come up with a different way of putting a zipper and lining into a small bag and as I had a bundle of lace zippers decided to use one of these.  Lace zippers are more delicate than your normal zip  so don't pull to hard or they will rip.  I am sure there are other tutorials like mine as this type of zippered bag is quite common. 

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You can vary the size to suit your zipper length by moving the centre line right or left.  I don't think I would make it any smaller than about an 8" zip but you could make it bigger.  (This drawing would fit on an A4 piece of paper.)

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When I ordered these zippers I thought I would get pretty colours like I had received before.  This time they were dark maroons and browns.  I thought of throwing them away but just couldn't do that.  So I have had to change my approach.

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I went to my stash and found 2 fat quarters that I didn't know what to do with.    The main fabric was very light so I ironed some interfacing to this, then cut out my pieces.  There is a bit of wastage after I had cut out the bag but I striped these and added them to my box of strips.

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With right sides together  sew the upper edges of the lining and main fabric together with 1/4" seam and then trimmed it back to 1/8" .

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Take a bit of time to do this next bit.  Open the seam flat and iron seam allowance towards the main fabric.

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Then re-iron the edges so they sit together.  You are going to add your zipper over this so taking time to get it right makes inserting the zipper easier.

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Position the opening end of your zipper with the edge of the fabric.  (I find these little clips great for this job.)  My zipper is longer than the opening so I will have to shorten it.

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Sew the zipper to this upper edge using your zipper foot..  Now that is easier said than done.  If you sew it too close it gets stuck in the teeth.   I position the edge of my fabric so that I can see through the top line of holes in the lace.

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Open the top ends of your zipper to make getting around the pull easier.  Once you have done this close the zip again.

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Iron flat using an ironing cloth, those plastic teeth can melt.

The next step is to sew the side seams of the main fabric and lining together but first make sure you zipper teeth are sitting high.

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Once your have these in position join your side seams using a 1/4" seam..

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Sew the bottom seam on both the bag and lining.  Leave an opening in the lining to turn your bag through.

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Opening the lining seam and press open this will make stitching it closed easier.

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Next step is to box the corners.  Now you might find that all the corners look like this.

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But sometimes you get one that looks like this.

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Just cut it so the both side are the same. (2" each side)

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Match you seams and sew across using a 1/4" seam.  On the main fabric put the thickness each side of the seam.
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On the lining open the seam and sew across.

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Now we are ready to turn the bag through.  I would do this next to my iron.  As you turn it to the right side iron those boxed corners flat before you sit the lining in place. You can now ladder stitch the opening in the lining closed.  You have nice sharp edges to make this easier.

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Then iron the triangle in the ends in place and along the bottom edge.  Get inside your bag with your iron and make sure that the fabric sits flat.  (Sometimes a little spray starch can make a big difference to your finish.)

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And there you have it.

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I quite like that dark zipper now.


After the storm

There is still a very strong wind blowing here and I am being careful just what trees I am walking under.  Things seem to be falling from the sky all the time.  The other disturbing thing is that many large fish are drowning.  That sounds stupid but the amount of soil being washed down the rivers is so thick in the water that the fish are drowning.  We are taking bets between each other about how long it will be before the water is clear again.  My husband has his money on August I think May but if we have another big storm it could be even longer.  Still, it is school holidays and there are lots of people out fishing.  I don't think they are catching anything.

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The electricity suppliers sent their trucks over to the island this week to clear trees  away from the power lines.  After the storm.  Would have been better before the storm I think.  Anyway, it was interesting to watch them get that long arm up into the trees.  Some of the trees are just way too tall and my heart was in my mouth a few times as that rotary saw spun near the power lines.

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Looking up, lovely blue sky, through the trees, brown sea.  There is some interesting moulds grown on the tree bark as well.

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Going over to the mainland I noticed that the channel markers don't mark the channels any more.  Oh boy, that is going to be a big job for someone.  All the maps are going to have to be re-drawn.

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Mitred Corners

I am teaching a Machine Finishing class this weekend and have been organising my notes and samples.  Times change quickly and what is applicable one year ago is not so the next, so I have had to have a complete rethink about this class. One of the main changes is that the net is full of tutorials, image and video.  So I have gone through the notes and included links to these so that the students can go back over the techniques in addition to the notes I provide.

When it came to the mitred corner I found Mr Google sent me to those that work for quilting and household sewing.  There aren't that many for hand embroiderers.  The best one I could find was one by Mary Corbet, but this was hand sewn, not machine sewn.  It is much the same but the difference is that you sew  on the reverse and you stop stitching at the fold line.

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Now this might not seem a big thing but the difference is in the degree of the finish.  For an embroiderer getting that hem to sit perfectly is important.  People look more closely at hand embroidery than they do at a machined piece.

I then had another think about all those tutorials for the easy way to mitre a corner and they do have value if you are sewing serviettes, table cloths or quilts. I decided to add that to the class as well.  Everyone will have their own serviette to use at morning tea, all be it just cotton not a linen one.

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Then I went looking for a good tutorial on that technique.  The one I liked the best is from Purl Solo.  (Love that shop in NY.)

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I suppose I really should learn how to make videos myself to go with my classes.

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WIPW

Well, 12 years later, I can now cross this one off the UFO list.

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I did lose it, find it, lose it find it, then lose it again.  Then it turned up in the boxes when I unpacked when we moved here.  Another positive is that as I finished it now I can put 2017 as the date.  That means I have finished the sampler for 2017.  You beaut!  It amazes me that in that time I never misplaced any of the cottons so all the colour is the same.  I did separate the pattern from the project for a few years but all is well that ends well.

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Starting a new project

I am getting ready to start a new project.  There is always the need to have something to put the project into keep it clean and transport it.  I would normally use a zippered plastic bag but have found that although these are good,  sometimes they don't fit the embroidery hoop and If I enclose cards of embroidery thread I misplace them or leave them lying around and then can't find them. 

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So for this project I have made a draw-string bag with a pocket inside for the pattern and embroidery tools.

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Years ago I bought a bundle of manufacturers samples to make skirts for little girls and I still have a bundle left over.  They are a light cotton (I think they are from the days before poly-cotton was so cheap), and all the pieces measured 7''x12".  I used 6 pieces to make the bag. Four for the bag, one for the pocket and one for the drawstring casing.

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I could have just overlocked the seams but I didn't have the overlocker threaded and I hate having to thread that machine.  So I used French seams so that I would not have any frayed threads getting on my work.  I joined two pieces each to make a front and back  then sewed a hem on the fifth piece for the pocket.

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I placed the pocket a little higher from the base and stitched a divider for the pattern and the embroidery tools.

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For the draw string casing I cut another piece of fabric in half and attached that to the top of the bag.  Stitching down from the top edge for a frill .  I still have a bundle of these pieces left over and have been keeping them for over 20 years.  Time to use them up.  I think I might make bags for my grand nieces.  The eldest is now 12  so bags like these are good for things that girls like to keep.

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All that was left to do was insert some cord and I had my bag.

Then I made a holder for the embroidery tools I would need.  Very quickly, with a scrap of lining fabric.  This has worked so well, but looks so bad, that I am going to remake it properly.

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War quilts - 3

Here are two different quilts that were made in India.  Because they use the same fabrics at first glance they look similar but they would look totally different if made in today's quilting fabric but I have no desire to do this.  The star motive is used in both quilts.

Interestingly this quilt is not included in the book so the only information about it is what was on the title plaque which doesn't match this quilt.  (As it was the first quilt I photographed I know I also took a photo of the plaque beside it.)

It would appear to be the same as the other Indian quilts  and those edges appear to be pinked in this image.  When I enlarged the photo you can see that they have been cut into diamond points.

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  The pieced stars are just so even, and there are so many of them all the same.  Thinking about how this was sewn, you could carry the pieces for each star with you to stitch, much like paper piecing.  Then when you had made enough they could be assembled and then move onto the next row, moving from the centre to the edge.

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This quilt is in the book and again it was made in India, maker unknown.  It is a true intarsia, where the front is the same as the back.  It is sumised that this was made by a regimental tailor.  A lot of these quilts seem to have been stitched by regimental tailors, which makes some more sense of them.  I know there are men that stitch but I can't see many soldiers stitching something like this.

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Detail of the piecing.

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