Ebullient - the Quilt

In September 2019 I purchased this quilt top

for $20 from an eBay seller who described it 

as "all vintage feedbacks" . . .

I loved its scrappy vibe but really

 doubted the feedsack description

and my doubts were correct.

Once I had the top in hand

I quickly realized that machine quilting

would do nothing to make the top better.

So in early 2020 I offered the top

to Cathy L. since I knew she was a

big stitch hand quilter who loves scrappy.

Lo and behold she offered to big stitch quilt it

for me as a return favor for fabrics I sent to her

to be used in her many, many donation quilts.

I was thrilled to say the least.

The quilted quilt arrived here late last week.

OH MY GOODNESS - I love how Cathy

used multiple colors of thread echoing

the colors in the backing fabric.

She mentioned how often she thought about 

the maker's personality as she quilted.

I used a marbled Stonehenge fabric

to make binding - its blues, purples,

greens, and pinks work beautifully with the 

eclectic fabrics in the top.

Look closely and you'll find double knit polyester,

poplin, seersucker, multiple colorways of the 

same fabric, plaids, florals, and so much more.

I sent Cathy this Art Gallery Pastel Thrift backing -

if you supersize the photo you'll find lots of

typewriter font letters layered behind the plaid.

Finished size 60" x 72"

Needless to say,  I absolutely love Ebullient.

(Zestfully enthusiastic, cheerful, full of energy)

THANK YOU, CATHY!!!!

* * *

On a completely different note,

our neighbor asked me what to do with 

the wedding dress he found among his mother's things.

After a week of research, texts, and emails

younger son and I delivered the dress Friday afternoon

to the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum here in Memphis.

The staff was so excited about this beautiful

1940s gown - they dressed a mannequin

just so they could take photos to share

on their Facebook page.

The donor is very happy about this outcome

and I am happy to have been part of the process.

Quiltdivajulie

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The 70s Quilt is Finished and Delivered

Here is the finished front of the 70s quilt.

70" wide x 87" long

I absolutely love the quilted texture.

The thread color completely disappears.

(so glad Chris taught me so much about thread choices)

Ms. Zinnia's scrappy fabric choices really sing now.

I only had a few places where I had to

seriously detour my stitching path

to accommodate her extra thick points.

This is the finished back of the quilt.

For those with good eyes 

the quilt is not truly "square"

but I knew that would happen

because her original blocks weren't.

I'm so happy with how "flat" the quilt lays

considering the condition of the top

when it was handed off to me.

I've mentioned before that this is a heavy quilt.

I weighed it after it was finished - almost 6 lbs.

I even used one of the shirt pockets for the label.

* * *

I had wanted to take this outdoors for a photo shoot but

since (1) we've had nothing but rainy or very damp days

since it was finished, (2) the quilt isn't mine, and 

(3) I had no plans to wash this before delivery,

indoor photos ended up having to suffice.

* * *

Delivery of the quilt took place in a light rain on the

last day before our "stay at home" rules took effect. 

The grandson is in a high-risk group for COVID-19

so while he stood in his garage watching me

I put the bagged quilt on the hood of his truck and went back

to our car while he took the bag and set it inside his garage.

Not quite the way I envisioned 

sharing the finished quilt with him

but then so many things right now 

are not what we thought they would be.

Quiltdivajulie

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“He who can listen to the music in the midst of noise can achieve great things.”
Vikram Sarabhai

The 70s Quilt is Quilted!

It has taken several days to quilt

all 22 passes across the 70s quilt sandwich.

I stitched unmarked liberated free motion Baptist Fans

using Glide thread in German Granit (no e)

and it took all seven bobbins

plus two (!) needle changes.

[Max uses “Smart Bobbins” 

(Style L that holds 110 yards)

rather than the optional “Big Bobbin” 

(Style M that holds 220 yards)]

159 no-longer-needed pins and pinmoors

Even by spacing out the quilting sessions

 I still have a painfully sore right shoulder and neck.

It needs a chance to heal

before I work on the binding and label.

* * *

Max did great with only a few puffy stitches

where there were four layers AND a lumpy seam

from Ms. Zinnia's piecing.

The most problematic areas involved all four layers 

plus that protective fusible on the stars in the backing.

With the numerous challenges of this quilt

 I'm absolutely thrilled with how flat it lays

and that there are no tucks or puckers in the back.

(working on my own quilts with only top, batting, and back

is going to feel like a dream after wrestling with this one)

Here is the freshly quilted top.

(not yet "tamed" to remove the excess around the edges)

Here is the freshly quilted back.

(yes, that lower edge was too close for comfort)

And here's a detail shot of the three stars

that were removed from the front

and worked into the scrappy back.

The quilted fans actually show up better

on the quilt's reverse than on the front.

(once I get the edges cleaned up

I'll get actual finished dimensions)

* * *

The best part is that even though I lost

three weeks to the cold/sinus crud

I still have a generous week 

to let my shoulder/neck recover

and get this completely finished

ahead of the deadline.

Quiltdivajulie

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“We have two years and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
Epictetus

Answering Questions

When I shared this photo in last Monday's post,

Dorothy (no-reply blogger) and others 

questioned the "layer under the top" idea.

Jennifer Strauser of The Dizzy Quilter explains it this way:

" . . . to layer a piece of muslin between the top and the batting.  

With dense quilting, a loose seam will not result in 

leaking batting or pieces falling off.  

Also, if a patch wears out in time, 

it will be easy enough to appliqué a replacement on top."

And Rossie of Rossie Crafts explains it this way:

" . . . Some investigation showed that 

it was all hand-pieced and

that there were multiple places

 where a gap had opened up in the piecing. 

Further, there were some fabrics that were not 

well-suited for quilting (very large weave) 

and were falling apart. 

I thought that the best plan was probably to find 

a yellow to match the quilt and use it 

as a layer under the whole pieced top. 

Basically, the whole vintage piece 

would become an appliqué patch. 

After checking with a few quilty friends, 

who agreed that my plan was a good idea, I set to work."

Beginning to pin baste the layers on our 6' ceramic topped dining room table

With the 70s quilt top, 

there are a number of VERY thin (see-through) fabrics

along with stretchy knits, corduroy, 

and even a few home decorator fabrics which

make for an"uneven" top in terms of fabric density.

(I have had several old tops quilted by professional 

long arm quilters - like Buttons and Bonnets -

and they have added a layer of  muslin

or other neutral fabric between the batting

and the elderly quilt top as a way to help

make the finished quilt sturdier by minimizing

at least a few stressors on the tops' frail fabrics)

Also, for the three star blocks used in the back,

I added a layer of fusible tricot interfacing

to the back of each 20" block to help

stabilize their seams and stretchy fabrics.

Someone mentioned that I would need a lot of pins.

I ended up using 159 sets of flower head pins with pinmoors.

Once the edges were trimmed to 4" extra all around,

I re-rolled the pin basted quilt back onto

one of the elongated pool noodles so it 

would be easier to carry back upstairs to my studio.

(I much prefer working on my studio's taller drafting table

but it just wasn't wide enough for this 80" back)

* * *

Next step?

Winding several bobbins for Max/getting ready to quilt.

Quiltdivajulie

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“There is no such thing as a worthless conversation, provided you know what to listen for. And questions are the breath of life for a conversation.” 

James Nathan Miller

Ready to Pin Baste

WHEW -- the 70s quilt is ready to pin baste.

(click on the label at end of this post 

to see previous posts for this project)

Left to right (rolled on extended* pool noodles):

Back, batting, liner for top, and the top.

(* extended pool noodles - two full length noodles 

with a 4' dowel rod slid through 

the hole to strengthen/stabilize)

(in keeping with the scrappy, make-do nature of the top,

I'm using a low volume print (reversed) for the liner)

This project is SO MUCH larger than what I normally quilt.

Wish me luck!

In other news, almost three years ago (gasp)

I painted our two front porch doors red

which led to the making of the Kitchen Door Quilt.

I liked the red doors so much,

I announced that I was going to paint

both of the back doors red.

(lots of time passes)

Last Wednesday, DH took down the sunroom door

and did extensive cleanup around the multiple panes of glass.

And now the door has been painted by yours truly

and re-hung by DH with new hardware.

(once the paint fully hardens, I'll clean up the glass

and remove any stray smudges of red around the edges)

Only one more door to go . . . 

but not until after the 70s quilt is D-O-N-E.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or self-confidence.”

Robert Frost

Piecing the Scrappy Back

I cut shirt backs and yardage for the scrappy back

into 16.5" squares and spaced them out

on the sewing studio design wall.

(the layout sketch is in this post)

In between working on tax preparation sessions,

I've pieced extra fabric onto nine of the squares

so they and the three star blocks currently measure 20".

There are a few coping strips added into those rows

and there may be a few more added into the other rows.

(there's also one more row of five 16" squares

that will go at the top - but my stool isn't tall enough

for me to put them on the design wall)

The finished top measures 72 inches wide.

The back as planned will measure 80 inches wide

which will give me 4" on each side.

(Max doesn't need as much extra on the sides

as the stand up long arm machines do)

Fingers crossed the back comes out the way I've planned.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; 
they listen with the intent to reply."
Stephen R. Covey

Sharing "The Plan"

At long last (15 hours+), all of the

1974 newspapers and Sears catalog pages

have been removed from the back of the top.

After repairing several more seams,

the top was given a gentle all-over pressing.

And after more hours of pondering and auditioning,

I've chosen four fabrics to form the borders 

 that will enlarge the top to twin size.

(3 from the stash + outer border/newly purchased)

I simply could not add a super-wide border all around 

as initially suggested by the grandson of the maker.

I seriously doubt Ms. Zinnia (his grandmother) 

would have approved of that approach

given the very scrappy nature of her stars.

So a four-part border it shall be.

(click here for the introduction to this project

and click on the '70s quilt' label to see

all previous posts for this one)

With those decisions made, I moved onto the backing.

The three extra stars that were removed from the top

have been framed with the outer border fabric

for insertion into the scrappy pieced back.

Eight of the fabrics were cut from

the backs of said grandson's shirts

while those with post-it notes

were pulled from the stash.

I do believe this eclectic mix 

of plaids, stripes, and prints is very much 

in line with the nature of Ms. Zinnia's quilt top.

Next step will be to cut the fabrics into squares;

piecing the larger squares to increase their sizes

to equal those of the star blocks,

 while also enhancing the scrappy factor.

* * *

Finally, it is almost time to start stitching.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Listen to the silence.  It has so much to say.”

Rumi

Awaken - The Flimsy

The blocks for Awaken have been sewn together.

The top measures 64" x 64"

The top and back were pin basted

before I took a photo of the flimsy

because the indoor light was not great

and the weather outdoors was worse.

My goal is to get Awaken

(February's kitchen table quilt)

quilted and finished this week.

For those who have asked if I'm saving the 1974 newspaper

from the back of the string pieced diamond star blocks -

you can see in this photo the largest pieces

that I've been able to save.

Otherwise . . .

. . . this is what happens when they're removed.

 However, I did photograph the back of each block

before any of the papers were removed.

It's slow going but I am making progress.

Quiltdivajulie

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“There is a voice that doesn’t use words.  Listen.”

Rumi