A Crisis Helps to Work in the White Spaces

Much of my concentration has been on replacing the red and green fabric applique. Now I'm realizing that I need to work on some of the weak spots on the background as I notice them.  In an earlier post I recommended marking the areas that need repair as I go.  This is a good idea.  But if I just mark them, they will all be waiting for me when I'm done with the red and green restoration.  Just working on white will be boring.

So as I write this, I've completed 8 1/2 applique blocks, it's looking beautiful. I've decided to ocasionally let myself repair a rip in the white space. This mixes up the different tasks to vary the job a little bit.

Outburst of Joy, (c) 1984 by Ann Fahl.  My apologies, this is a scan of an old photo, it's the best I can do.

Many years ago I entered a very colorful wallhanging into a local quilt show.  It was a compass style piece with an interesting border, all hand quilted.  This quilt was titled "Outburst of Joy" won a prize, a ribbon was pinned onto the quilt. At the conclusion of the show the ribbon was lying on the floor and there was a 3 cornered tear in the black background of the quilt!


The show organizers were most apologetic and were horrified that this had happened. When they pointed it out to me, I looked at it, and realized that it was small, a tear of about 1/2 inch in two different directions. Fortunately it was contained within a small triangular section of straight line quilting; and I realized that I could applique a matching piece of fabric over the tear. I did this the minute I got the quilt home.

With little tiny stitches, I appliqued a piece of black just inside of the hand quilting stitches.  It fit inside the quilting lines, perfectly.  Because it was a perfect match, nobody except me knew that it had been patched.  This quilt has been sold, long ago. If the owner is reading this blog, this is the first they will know of this affair! 

This is exactly what I will do to the areas in the white background of the tulip quilt as I find and mark them. I will cut a patch of the well washed muslin, and applique it within the quilting lines.

The split in the fabric was marked with thread.

A patch has been cut and appliqued within the quilting lines.

If the damaged area is larger, I will applique a much larger patch, yet inside of the quilting pattern, and quilt over the entire repaired area to match the original.

The patch has been quilted, so the quilting pattern is continuous.  This helps to camouflage the repair.

These photos do look pretty awful, but you are only looking at a small area of the quilt.  When you open the entire quilt up, and you see all the patterns, these patches almost disappear. It's difficult for me to find them. Quilt conservators might use a sheer netting for these repairs. I am intending on using this quilt daily, so I want to repair the weak spots with something that will withstand a little more wear and tear.  My new patches provide new strength to the area.

Still sewing.
Ann
 

Far from Done with Red and Green Tulips

The block in the worst condition of the 20 in the quilt.

It's really exciting when I finish another block. The new fabrics just jump out and grab my attention. They look wonderful. But something bothers me about this fact. The tulips are bold, crisp and new. The background is aged, soft and puckered.  I know how this will be remedied, but it kind of bugs me as I admire my handwork.

I will quilt over some parts of the new applique, like the original maker did.  When the quilting has all been completed, I will gently rinse or wash the entire quilt and let it air dry.  Hopefully the applique will wrinkle up a little bit to give it a softer older look.  I want the old and the new to blend together.

Remember in an earlier blog I talked about the importance of pre-washing fabric? This is why.

Still stitching.

Ann

Restoring the White Background fabric

Close up of one of the simple feathered circles in the alternating blocks.

We've pretty much discussed everything about the tulip blocks.  As I've been working on them, I've noticed areas in the white fabric that will need some attention:

• There are some small holes or splits
• There are places where the hand quilting needs to be filled in.
• Soiled areas.

My friend Linda gave me a great tip on how to handle the background repairs; and that is to lay it out on a table or floor and mark all the places that need attention with a safety pin or a loop of colored thread. Do this on the front and the back side.

Now as I work on appliqueing the blocks when I see those little places I will mark them as I go along.

Still Quilting.

Ann

A New Look for an Old Block

As I begin this blog, I've got 2.5 blocks finished.  Working a little bit each evening, I can re-applique one block in a week.  It's important that this be a NO pressure project, just sewing a little if I feel like it.  Those are my guidelines.  No more high pressure projects that have to be done by a due date!  Quilting should be enjoyable and relaxing.  I've been missing the "relaxing" part for the last few years. And this quilt is for me, not for a show with entry deadlines and qualifications.

When I began my quilting career in 1978, I quilted for about 3 hours every evening. When I say "quilting" I mean all the hand work; applique, quilting and finishing the binding.  I looked forward to this part of every day.  When my children came along, I didn't get 3 hours anymore, but after they were tucked in, I sat down with latest quilt. This was a little bit of my stitching heaven.

Since I've made the switch to being a machine quilter, I've had nothing left to do in the evening, maybe sewing on a label or finishing the occassional bias binding. So this old quilt is fulfilling a need for me.

The first block re-appliqued is one on the outside corner.

When I stepped back from the completed block, I said, "wow."  What an amazing change. I can only imagine how the quilt will look when it is done.  There will have to be some requilting on top of the applique, but that's too much for me to think about right now. Tomorrow is another day. Didn't Scarlett say that?

Detail of the the stems and leaves.

 In the previous post, I talked about how the leaves needed to have points and the stems should be laid under the flowers.  So here is what I meant.  I am also using matching thread colors so little boo-boos don't show. This is quite pleasing to the eye.

A closeup of one of the appliqued tulips. Notice how nice the stem sits under the flower.

I am not restoring this quilt for a museum, I'm fixing it for myself, so I'm taking some liberties with my techniques.  I am using hand techniques that I like to use, and are high quality, not duplicating the stitching by the original maker. So I'm using matching thread.

Next time I'll show you a block in progress.

Ann Fahl

Choosing the Fabrics

These are the new fabrics purchased for the restoration of this quilt.

You might say, "those fabrics look really dark!"  Well actually they are very close to the original color found on the underside of the old appliqued fabric.  I chose one that was a little richer in color rather than lighter than the original.

The fabrics are exactly what I was looking for, they are slightly mottled, so they'll blend in with the age of the quilt when washed.  The green fabric is from the Troy Corp, Riverwoods Collection, Modern Textures by Marcia Derse of mddesigns.  The red is called Solids for moda.

When I get home with my bag of fabric I want to begin right away. BUT:::::::::::the fabrics need to be rinsed out first.  I always do this with every fabric I own.  I rinse the fabric in hot water in my sink.  If it bleeds, I continue to rinse until the color is gone. Then it goes in the dryer. This prewashing accomplishes many things:

• Removes excess fiber and lint from the fabric
• Rinses off extra finishing chemicals from the fabric
• Removes excess dye so color doesn't run onto the background or neighboring fabrics
• When dried in the dryer, fabric may shrink so that the seams will be more stable and cause less puckering.

Only after this has been done, does a fabric go into my "stash."  It only takes one disaster for you to say, "Oh, why didn't I take the time............."

I've made my templates, cut a few tulips out,  and I'm ready to begin the hand stitching that I've been waiting for so long.  I can hardly wait to sleep under this quilt.

Let the journey begin.

Ann Fahl

The Red and Green Renovation Begins

Original border block of the Red and Green Tulip quilt.

Why am I spending the time to do this?  Not only do I love the quilt, but the white background and the quilting are in good shape.  The base is solid, only the appliques are falling apart.  So my thoughts are to remove the really bad parts, and just applique over all of the design, so the quilt looks consistent across the top. I plan on using this on my bed!

Off I go to the Sew 'n Save in Racine, they have a lovely fabric store next to their sewing machine shop.  I've decided that I need 2 yards of green and 3 yards of red fabric.  When matching old fabrics, I find it helpful to have a swatch to find the right colors.  Because there are so many bad spots on the applique, there were small places that I could cut off to expose the original color underneath. So this is what I took with me:

These are the little snippets of the actual fabric I took with me to match colors.

It didn't take long before I found the right fabrics. I'll show them to you next time.

Ann Fahl

A Change of Pace.... a new project

For awhile now I've felt like I needed to return to my quilting roots, to work on a hand project.  This sounds a little strange for a 'dyed in the wool' machine person like myself. But I'm tired of the rush and the push to finish projects fast. I want to be a slow quilter; savoring each stitch and enjoying the feel of the soft cotton fabric in my hands.

Before I ever took a quilting class, there was a beautiful red and green tulip quilt that used to be on the brass bed in the master bedroom at the cottage.  By the time I took that all-important first quilting class, I pulled it out of the closet and admired it, for the color choices and the good quilting stitches.

Sadly I realized that time had taken a toll on that quilt.  The green fabric was falling apart, and the red wasn't too far behind.  Someone folded up the quilt and stored it in the old trunk upstairs so it hasn't been seen or slept under for a long time.

Last time I was at the cottage, I dug it out of the trunk and asked if I could have it.  In its current condition nobody would ever want to use it!  So I brought it home.  I've purchased 5 yards of fabric to re-applique the blocks, by hand.

Red and green tulip quilt block to be restored by Ann Fahl

So I have begun what may be a lifetime project. Will it take a year or ten?  Who knows.  I've spent a little time each evening adding a new piece or two. This feels right. Why has it taken me so long to work with my hands again?  Next time I'll show you the quilt and tell you its story.

Ann Fahl

Digging up History

We had the main level of our house painted.  In the process, all the quilts, pictures and paintings are taken down; and everything gets moved.  After the painters left, I like to change the placement of all the artwork in the house.  Just by chance I found a very old quilt that I made for a gift for my husband in 1984.  It's amazing what you find when you have to clean.

Hand Prints for Daddy (c) 1984 hand appliqued and quilted by Ann Fahl

This is such a charming little piece, that I pulled it out and laid it on my sewing table.  It just needed a little more hand quilting around the inner border and would hang better.  So I hand quilted last night for the first time in years.  This is now hanging on a wall in my living room so my husband and I can enjoy it each day.

It's hard to believe that my grown sons were once this small. Now they are tall young men, on their own, with their own careers.  It's good to look back in your history and at your early work.  As you can tell it isn't square.  I didn't know anything about blocking my quilts at the time.  But I did realize the importance of signing my quilt.

Signature on the lower right corner

It is good to see that I have greatly improved my skills over the years. Machine quilting has totally changed the world of quilting, it enhances the surface so much more than a lightly hand quilting one like this.

Go digging in your closet and look at the quilts you made in your first years. You'll be amazed at your progress!

Ann Fahl