Making Acrylic Templates

After I posted this photo of the templates that DH made

there were comments and questions about how he makes them.

So here is an overview of the process he uses.

He starts with  a sheet of OPTIX from the big box lumber place.

He buys a piece 18" x 24" x .220 thickness for about $30.00.

He then attaches the paper drawing of the desired templates

to the acrylic sheet WITHOUT removing the clear protective film.

(image shown in photo was a piece of paper

leftover after making the tulip templates

adhered to leftover acrylic)

He uses this product to attach the drawing to the film-covered acrylic.

Similar temporary adhesives would likely work the same way.

One big note though . . . 

Read the directions on the can and DO NOT skimp 

on the drying time for the adhesive.

(if you prefer, the template drawing can be taped to the 

film-covered acrylic, but the the spray adhesive gives better results)

He then uses a fine-tooth blade on his bandsaw

to cut out the template.

He uses a Bosch 4" High Carbon Steel Jig Saw Blade for 

"cutting wood, plastic, and laminated particleboard"

on his bandsaw.

You Tube shows using jigsaws or reciprocating saws - 

they can also used but they make it harder to get good results

because they generate more heat.**

The bandsaw is the best tool to use.

** No matter which saw you use, lower your speed settings

and GO SLOWLY.

TEST your saw and blade on a scrap piece to determine

the relationship between your tools and the acrylic 

BEFORE cutting out your desired shape(s).

** HEAT IS NOT YOUR FRIEND as it melts the acrylic.

For long straight cuts, he uses his table saw

with a fine tooth blade - again going slowly

to reduce heat buildup and material melt.

(if you have a problem with your acrylic chipping out,

you can tape the edges with painter's tape)

Once your templates are cut out

and the paper and film have been removed,

finish the edges using abrasive paper

(aka sandpaper)

in 120, 180, and 220 grits.

The edges then receive a final finish 

with a quick pass using a kitchen torch

to round any remaining sharp edges.

 * * *

And in other news, 

DH had another article published by

the American Association of Woodturners.

You can read his blog post about it HERE.

Quiltdivajulie

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“The people in our lives give color to our existence.”

Jewel E. Ann

 

Tutorial Notes for my Dumpster Diving Quilts

To begin at the beginning,

CLICK HERE to read Tonya's original 2011 tutorial

from the international legos craze inspired by 

her quilt named Ellis Island.

* * *

Now CLICK HERE and scroll down 

to see photos of my four previous Dumpster Diving quilts.

(embedded links take you to each quilt's reveal post)

* * *

Back in the present moment . . .

Last year I started gathering strips of greens 

and purples and grays,

not knowing exactly how I would use them.

When I agreed to teach a Dumpster Diving workshop

for Scrap Club hosted by Kevin the Quilter,

I knew I could use those saved strips and strings

to make my next Dumpster Diving quilt

as a work-in-progress to share with the class.

(that class unfortunately had to be cancelled

because I was too sick to travel)

The purples and turquoise bits were 

cut to uniform 1.5" widths

then chopped into varying lengths

of 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3", and 3.5".

The grays were handled the same way.

As were the greens.

(Those longer strips in the foreground

were cut from backing leftovers -

they'll be used in Dumpster Diving 7-Copacetic)

Limited only by the number of pins I had to work with,

I created pairs of grays, pairs of greens, and pairs of purples.

These were chain stitched one after the other

until all of my pins were available to be used again.

The newly stitched pairs were then pinned into new pairs

and chain stitched into sets of 4 segments.

(Hint:  crank up your favorite music -

it makes these power sewing sessions more fun)

Once the sets of four segments are sewn,

pinning the groups together is no longer needed.

Just pair two together, stitch,

then bend the free end around to the front

so you can place the next short strip in position

and continue sewing the short 4-strip segments

into one very, very long strip.

(again, music makes this time pass more enjoyably)

At this point, how you work with those long strips

will depend on the design of the quilt you are making.

For the blocks I'm using in Dumpster Diving 5

(diagonal string block style)

I cut the long strips into 14" lengths

and sorted the lengths by color.

Each block requires thirteen strips

as shown in the photo above.

When sewing these together,

I work top to bottom and left to right.

I wait until all thirteen strips 

are sewn together before pressing.

I then press from the back 

and press all seams in one direction.

Then I turn the block right side up

and press again from side to side

to make sure the seams are flat.

(I use steam - being careful not to twist the fabric strips)

Once the block is pressed flat,

I lay my 8.5" square ruler in place.

Hint:  make sure the corners

do not fall on a seam in the outside strips.

This makes sewing the blocks together easier

and results in far less bulk.

I cut off the top right corner first,

then the upper left

followed by the lower right,

and finally the lower left.

I don't know that the sequence really matters

so long as you are consistent

from one block to the next.

You could also use a rotating turntable

for cutting and trimming these blocks.

The four cut-away corners are then set aside -

in this case to be used in Lagniappe.

Here is the back of the newly-squared block.

(no dangling threads, seams pressed flat and straight)

And now there are six rows of blocks on the design wall.

Only twelve more blocks

and this top will be ready to sew together.

* * *

If you need more specifics about

my earlier Dumpster Diving quilts,

there are labels in the blog's sidebar.

Clicking on the label will pull up

the posts shared during the making

of each of the quilts.

* * *

Here's to the fun of making quilts

with lots and lots of small scraps!

Quiltdivajulie

My Liberated Free Motion Fans

Several of you have asked about

my liberated free motion fans.

I learned to stitch these from my friend

and amazing long arm quilter Chris.

You can see the sketch I made above

as she walked me through her process.

She also taught me how to use a small spiral

for the first arc - and how to mix the two designs

throughout a quilt top.

What you don't see in the image

is her recommendation to use a Chaco-liner

to mark horizontal lines on the quilt top

no more than 4" apart.

I quilted 2 or 3 quilts this way

and got impatient with the marking

and removal process.

So I branched out . . . 

I've always liked this design by Lori Kennedy

because it requires no marking,

is multi-directional, and creates great texture.

This is a sample practice sheet

when I was using a sharpie marker on paper.

Clearly I added multiple variations to the mix.

And if you double-click to supersize this photo,

(and all of the others for that matter)

you can see one of my practice stitch-outs.

The variation I used on Retired Too 

did not include any spirals or flower petals --

just lots and lots of nested fans of varying sizes

turned in all different directions.

* * *

Hopefully this helps explain 

how I stitch some of these designs.

My advice?

Grab a Sharpie and some paper

and doodle / practice / practice / doodle

until you find a rhythm that works for you. 

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------

Tie Pillow Tutorial

Oble's Tie Pillows (2006)

I've been asked several times how I made these memory pillows,

so it is high time I put together this tutorial.

* * *

A co-worker's father passed away in early 2006 and the 

children/grandchildren wanted to preserve his ties.

The woman for whom I made these purchased the pillow forms.  

I do not remember if they were 12" or 14" ~ 

but the method is the same no matter the size of the insertable pillow form.

* * *

The first step is to purchase pillow forms so you have a size to work with.

For the pillows above, I cut muslin foundation squares large enough 

to cover the top with 1/2" seam allowances added on all four sides.

I did not take the ties apart nor did I launder them.

(at the request of the family)

The ties were cut into lengths long enough to cover the muslin squares.  

The remaining shorter pieces were saved,

including the pointy ends.

I laid two tie segments on top of the muslin, side by side.

Using the 'fancy' stitches on my Bernina at their widest settings,
and stitching along the line formed by the two ties' edges,

the resulting 'seam' formed a join between the two adjacent ties 

and secured them to the foundation fabric.

I worked my way across the foundation fabric, one join at a time.
(If there were any raw edges involved, 
I made sure the next piece had a finished edge
and layered it over the raw edge before stitching.)

I've put photos of the finished pillow tops in a Picasa photo album 

so that you can see how the layouts varied from one pillow to another.  

* * *

Once the foundation squares had been covered, 

they were squared up and ready to be made into insertable covers.

* * *

In 2009, I shared a tutorial on making pillow shams here.  

You can add coordinating or contrasting flange borders to the tie pieces or not, 

depending on how you want to use/display them.  

Otherwise, the tutorial for making the back and binding 

follow the same process.

For those who want to incorporate other clothing into their memory pillows,
the back panels and/or binding could be pieced together
from taken apart shirts or pants ("made" fabric).

* * * 

Click here to see photos of what others have done with ties.

(Some people take the ties apart ~ others do not.

Some stitch with the silk alone.

Others prepare the ties with fusible tricot interfacing before cutting their pieces.)

* * *

At one point, I had grand plans to make a tie quilt ~

but the ties I gathered were given to another quilter

once I realized I was more in love with the idea than the actual process.

To those who are considering tie-related projects,

there's truly a world of possibilities out there!

Quiltdivajulie

The Book of Ruth

double click for detail view

Journal No. 2 will be about DH's grandmother ~

bits and pieces from her button box and her life.

This is her signature.

This is one of her old school books.

Problem is that the signature is on the inside cover of the book

and I need it to use elsewhere in the journal.

So ~ I scanned it and cropped the resulting .jpg

All is good, right?

Not yet.

I need a reversed (flipped) image to create a transfer using TAP 

(transfer artist paper).

Simple?

Not in iPhoto on a Mac.

Until you Google the problem. 

Drag a copy of the image to the desktop

(outside the iPhoto program).

Double click to open the image using Preview.

Go to Tools and choose Flip Horizontal.

VOILA!  A reversed image appears.

Do a Save As and name the new flipped image.

Drag it back into iPhoto and file as needed.

Repeat as needed . . .

I really do like my Mac . . .

especially when I figure out how to do something new.

And I'm very excited about this journal!

Quiltdivajulie

Colorful Process Notes

And then there were four!

After finishing the second block,

I took time to pre-cut the unwieldy WOF strips

into 6" (give or take) lengths.

I also took time to cut all of the background squares

(and slice them in half).

I'm using the block dimensions from Bonnie's tutorial.
(Once I created my paper template,
DH used it to make an acrylic version.)

I'm stitching directly onto the batik base

(offers size and stability with no paper to remove).

This will become a wall quilt for my day job's work space

unless it upsets my co-worker who struggles with
severe arachnophobia.  I'll need to name this quilt

something benign that emphasizes its colorful kaleio-qualities
instead of ever mentioning the traditional block name!

And those colorfully-random bits of trimmings?
I'm saving them to make a scrappy basket!

~ ~ ~

Taking a few days off posting-wise ~
Hope ya'll  take (make) time to enjoy every moment of this Thanksgiving week and weekend!

Quiltdivajulie 

------------------

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.

(Meister Eckhart)

Finishing A Quilt

As I worked this past weekend,

I took a series of process photos

for the hanging sleeves and the binding.

Together with examples of quilt labels,

those photos are now part of 

the newest page on my blog:

Please check out

Finishing My Quilts

in the sidebar

which includes links to

a Picasa album with even more photos.

Enjoy!

Quiltdivajulie

Friday Finish ~ French Roast

I'm delighted to share that I have finally come to terms

with this machine binding business.

MANY thanks to those who have offered suggestions, links, and advice ~

or who waited while I struggled through all this.

Your help HAS made a difference!

My method incorporates the approach I showed a day or so ago from Hilda

along with elements of Judy L's tutorial that Paula clued me into.

I cut these strips 2-1/2" to make my binding.

There is matching thread in the top and invisible thread in the bobbin.

I increased my stitch length just a little.

The binding is stitched to the front.

On the straightaway, I stop and pin 6-8" ahead of myself

just to keep things tidy as I work my way around the quilt.

As I approach a corner, I use three pins.

(photo shows the back side of the quilt)

I pin before and after, then pin the corner fold.

I do the back tack as Judy L. shows in her video

as I turn the corner with my needle down.

Ta Da! 

A finished corner!

There will always be quilts that I slowly lefty-hand bind,

but this method certainly works for all the others!

Here is French Roast draped over the rocker in my studio ~

a second PIF finish for this week!

Don't you just love the swirl design

 Chris chose for her quilting?

I do!

(the fabrics for this quilt came from her stash, too)

And here's Tippy 

(our grand-dog) 

quality testing the finished quilt.

Camp Sefton is way better than the kennel!

Here's to the weekend  . . .

Quiltdivajulie