Completed HST projects

[Renata L.]

Hubby is done and I'm off and busy!!!

[Renata L.]

Oh Renata! I found myself nodding my head and saying YES as I was reading your post! You are absolutely correct about everything!!

YES! Collect quilt pics, collect quilting design idea, collect color combos, collect doodles, collect whatever inspires you!!

YES! Duplicating and repeating design elements over the quilt top is a key of good design. It helps with balance and unity.

YES! The old adage of "Curved quilting with strait piecing and strait quilting with curved piecing" still applies! This is why many geometric quilt patterns look so good with flowing curving quilting. And why applique quilts look so wonderful with gridwork in the backgrounds. The contrasting designs complement each other.

YES! The computer is your friend. And you already have experience with digitizing and embroidery, so that is a great area for you to expand your designing into. I love the idea of you perhaps digitizing a doodle of your own in Corel and then printing it out... copy onto Golden Threads paper, and stitch it yourself with your FMQ! I do think that as you get better at following a line (the pattern), then you will develop the confidence to go totally freehand!

YES! Finding your groove and PPP are so important. I am so happy you had such success the other day with the music and relaxing into it. It's like a Pas De Deux--your DSM is your partner. I bet if you practice an hour every day (or at least on a schedule that fits your life) you will see great improvements!

Renata, YOU GO GIRL!!!

[Renata L.]

Just doing the binding now, but after reading some of these posts, I see that some people used Synthrapol to wash. I bought Retayne and colour catchers....Now, I am confused.

Ques: Is it better to photograph before or after the washing? I'm hoping mine will be finished for a double-deadline - May 1st for the book, and May 4th, (including sleeve) for our local guild show. Also, I may 'cheat' a bit and put the binding on, and if I have time do a bit more quilting, as I'd rather have it heavily quilted. Just maybe not for the photo. ops:

[Renata L.]

Just doing the binding now, but after reading some of these posts, I see that some people used Synthrapol to wash. I bought Retayne and colour catchers....Now, I am confused.

Ques: Is it better to photograph before or after the washing? I'm hoping mine will be finished for a double-deadline - May 1st for the book, and May 4th, (including sleeve) for our local guild show. Also, I may 'cheat' a bit and put the binding on, and if I have time do a bit more quilting, as I'd rather have it heavily quilted. Just maybe not for the photo. ops:

As far as I understand it Retayne is for washing lengths of fabric before you use it and it helps stick the dye to the fabric and Synthrapol is for after you have cut all the fabrics up and stitched them together and you don't want the dye to stick to the fabric. Colour Catchers are also so that the dye doesn't stick to the fabric, because it is too busy sticking to the Colour Catcher.

As for whether it is better to wash before or after your photo shoot - I went for before because I thought someone else said that they had had one or two of their batiks run, and after the 'fun' (for a very limited definition of fun)I had getting the red of my backing to stop running, I couldn't face risking it. Mind you a steaming over whilst it is hanging would probably not go amiss - if it is possible.

As for more quilting - why not! There are some stitching lines in my centre that I really do not like and I am planning on re-doing them in the near future (if I leave it too long it won't happen :wink: ) But they really are dreadful to my mind and I know that I can do better.

[Renata L.]

Hubby is done and I'm off and busy!!!

Not 'done for'?

Should we be saying 'chat to you again on Tuesday?' :wink:

[Renata L.]

Thanks, Rosemary, now to try to find a place to buy the Synthrapol on Sunday or Monday (most of our quilt shoppes are closed on Mondays, and since we've recently lost three local ones, this will mean a mean drive out to the boondocks.)
Has anyone ever just used vinegar or is that a myth - I used to use it for my jeans when I was considerably younger to keep them blue. (Funny that now-a-days they want to take the colour out and rip them too!)

[Renata L.]

Thanks, Rosemary, now to try to find a place to buy the Synthrapol on Sunday or Monday (most of our quilt shoppes are closed on Mondays, and since we've recently lost three local ones, this will mean a mean drive out to the boondocks.)
Has anyone ever just used vinegar or is that a myth - I used to use it for my jeans when I was considerably younger to keep them blue. (Funny that now-a-days they want to take the colour out and rip them too!)

Personally speaking I would skip the washing until after you are feeling less pressure. Be sure to try phoning ahead first! However you can work on the 300 words submission in the meantime (unless you have been efficient & already written it) I am in editing mode at the moment, it s not a lot of space to condense so much fun & thinking that took place.

[E.M. T.]

FYI...I washed my quilt when finished..as I always do...with a teeny bit of soap, Synthrapol is a detergent, and 4(I could've done more)
colorcatchers! I feel it was the colorcatchers that did the job as they were quite dark when done. Besides all the batik
I have black inner and wide red outer borders !! Worked for me.

[E.M. T.]

I did not wash my quilt yet. I took the pictures as soon as it was bound and labelled. I didn't block it either.

Unless you need to wash it to get out something like Vanish water soluble thread, there is no requirement to wash it before you take the pictures. Just one less thing to stress over with the deadline approaching!

JMHO

[Caroline A.]

I didn't wash my quilt but did put it on my design wall and lightly spritzed with water, mostly to flatten the borders after quilting, and pinned it to do what little blocking it needed. I rarely wash a new quilt and didn't want to take any chances on a fabric bleeding on this one. When I make a quilt, I usually use Retayne to set any fabric that looks like it may bleed, then if it does, I wash it with Synthrapol as a back up. I've had a couple lately that have taken two washings with Synthrapol, the second with color catchers before it quit bleeding - and one was just a green, not even a batik. My inital soak/wash is usually just in the laundry tub unless I have a lot of fabric to do at once.
Fi

[Deborah W.]

I washed my quilt after I had photographed it because of others problems with bleeding. I used synthropol and colour catchers when I did wash it and had one red triangle that bled through to the backing but nothing that bled on the front.

[Deborah W.]

I've got one done!!!!

[Deborah W.]

Way to go, Clara!

[Maryjo K.]

I knew you could aLL get these done for the deadline! Clara so glad to hear you made it.

[Maryjo K.]

4 done now!!!

Make that 8! 10 more to go.