CQ Update: I'm getting close...

Oct 05, 2009 12 Replies
D

Yesterday I bought 4 yards of plain black quilting fabric for my CQ. I bought black because some of my fabrics are translucent or thin, and I didn't want white showing through. I got plain black quilting fabric because DW and others advised me to 1.) Get the best foundation I could, and 2.) Avoid muslin from TSWLTH like the plague, regardless. Now the plan is to wash the foundation, iron, and cut to size (I bought enough for several quilts plus mistakes, shrinkage, etc.)



I have my first pieces (block, if you will...) planned, and will begin by ME a design on the center of the first "patch", trim the patch to shape, and stitch it to the foundation. I have a couple of choices for which fabric will occupy this auspicious location, so I'm going to embroider the design onto both/all of them, and choose the one that looks/turns out best. The current snag is mentioned in a separate post - I can't figure out which colors of emb. thread to buy because of color name vageness. The LQS has a 2/1 clearance sale on emb. thread, and despite a list, I have no idea which colors to get!!! Once that is resolved, I'm figuratively off to the races...



I've gotten my head around the shiny/slipperies. Now I have to find a local source, and my best hope was closed Sun., so I'll have to wait for an evening they're open that I can get there. If they don't have it, I'll likely have to settle for what TSWLTH has (I want to see/feel what I'm getting). I picked up a couple dozen more upholstery remnants Saturday.



There's still so much planning to be done I can't get my head around all of it at once. I need to find more embroidery designs, finalize some more focal points, balance color values, choose my decorative stitches... I've been working on this design for months and I think I still have more ahead of me than behind me (design-wise) but I'm catching my DW's impatience (see "Is patience required?" thread).



Am I having fun yet?



Doc


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D

Thanks Taria, but that's kinda moot at this point.

4 yards wasn't that expensive, and my comfort level is high with what I have - no anxieties or doubts, and IMO, that's worth something, especially with a project of this magnitude (for me.)

Doc

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T
4 yards wasn't that expensive, and my comfort level is high with what I have - no anxieties or doubts, and IMO, that's worth something, especially with a project of this magnitude (for me.)

Doc

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M

Doc, I'm hoping this black fabric you bought is easily needled - there is a reason that flimsy muslin and loosly-woven fabricsare chosen as CQ foundations, and that is that you will be sticking large embroidery needles threaded with several strands of floss through it over and over again as you make your beautuful embroidery stitches. The maker of the CQ I have here actually used a very thin silk batting as a foundation fothe blocks, and in spite of some shattering of some of the fabrics over time, the blocks are still quite sturdy. Do you plan on eventually laundering your CQ? In the old days, people simply hung them outside to air..... mine has only a faint musty "old" smell, not at all offensive! ;)

As far as selecting the embroidery thread colors, buy lots of the colors you love - and a few that you don't - I promise they will all look wonderful when stitched. I feel your pain, as I myself am very decision-challenged, though I have no trouble deciding for others! LOL

If any of you are interested, there are pix of my CQ made in the late 1800's at this link:

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Mickie

----- Original Message ----- From: "Dr. Zachary Smith"

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D

Not specifically (though it may be in one of the several books we now have on CQing). I assumed so anyway from my experience w/ DWs quilts shrinking up between pinning the layers together and finishing - it makes sense.

Doc

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O

My favorite foundation is restaurant grade cotton napkins. My sister sent me a bundle of them years ago and I used some in the kitchen, which was okay, but the first time I turned one into a CQ foundation I was hooked. They all came out of the kitchen and went into the stash. Yay! LOL. It's fun how we all have different likes and preferences.

Sunny

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D

What, no linen? Pish-tosh, I say... Pish-tosh! 8

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M

On Mon, 5 Oct 2009 09:04:51 -0500, Taria wrote (in article ):

I agree about the Roc-Lon. You can tell the difference between that and the "cheap" stuff just by looking and feeling it.

Maureen

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L

Actually, raveling usually isn't much of a problem. But the block shrinking could be. It's always best to cut the foundation larger than the finished block- as you add trims and embroidery stitching, etc, it will pull the block smaller. When all the blocks are done then all should be trimmed to the same size.

That's assuming you have more than one block.... ;-)

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

What, no linen? Pish-tosh, I say... Pish-tosh! 8

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P

M: Thanks for showing us that amazing crazy quilt! I especially like the border treatment of plain red border with the pieced border. Is that a family heirloom or a luck find? Pat in Virginia

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M

Had the highest bid for it on eBay about 10 years ago. Don't have any idea as to its history, and there are no clues on the quilt itself. I've never seen another one with borders like this, it really makes it particularly special to me! Glad you enjoyed the pictures. Mickie

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