The Blackest Black

 Black is a hard color to dye because there is no single "source" for it. Most black is a mixture of  several other dye colors, and manufacturers have to use a LOT of it to make black fabric BLACK.

So it wasn't really a surprise last week when the color catchers that came out of the wash with the black fabrics I bought were this dark (and actually they are DARKER in real life).

Now, I should tell you that I wash EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF FABRIC before I even bring it into my studio. I never used to use Color catchers when I washed new fabrics because I (erroneously) thought that washing the fabric would remove ALL the excess dye. I was mistaken, so now whenever I buy fabric I always include color catches in the wash cycle.

Since I bought these black fabrics to use in a Black, White and Red quilt for my granddaughter, I knew the blacks would bleed into the other fabrics after the quilt was complete. I didn't want that, so I decided to soak the black fabrics in detergent using Vickie Welsh's instructions, here. 

Doing the red fabrics last week showed me the faucet in the bathtub leaked, and while it was only a drip drip drip, that was enough to almost fill the tub to overflowing if I let something soak all night. (Can you say, saved by the skin of my teeth?)

So when I needed to soak the black fabrics I used one of the large plastic storage bins I have. As you can see from the photo above, taken over twelve hours later, the fabric really needed it, and a lot of black dye was released.

This is what it looked like when I drained the tub.

This is what the color catchers looked like after I washed the black fabrics again. You can see they are lighter than the light gray fabric from the pink and silver quilt and just a bit darker than the white bath towel visible in the background.

I've since ironed all the fabrics and will be ready to start on my granddaughter's quilt early next week. The guys are going to be here for the next two days replacing the carpet in my living room with Laminated Vinyl Flooring, so my house is going to be in disarray for a few days.

I have one big long seam to sew to finish the Pink and Silver quilt top. That and getting the backing ready for it will happen while the guys are working on the floor. (I'll be taking refuge in the studio.)

Red Again

 

My granddaughter has asked me to make her a black, red and white quilt. I'm pretty sure I know where I am going with it, so I ordered some fabric, because a basic black red and white quilt isn't very interesting. I want to make her quilt fun so I ordered some fabrics. Since the Big Red quilt bled I've been very careful in choosing dark fabrics, particularly for backings of my quilts.

But my DGD wanted RED and RED was what I wanted to give her. So when the fabrics arrived the other day, I ran them through the wash, as I always do. The color catchers that came out were the ones on the upper left in the photo above.

I ran them all through the washer AGAIN, and the color catchers came out are on the upper right of the photo. But I wasn't worried. I knew that I would soak the fabrics the way Vicki Welsh recommends in her "Save my bleeding quilt" post.

So I did that and let the fabrics soak for a full twelve hours 

The color catchers that came out after I ran the fabrics through the wash were the ones at the bottom of the top picture. Actually, the photo is very deceiving. The color catches were almost white.

When I washed the BLACK fabrics, the color catchers were quite dark, so I plan to give them the good soak as well. It will take a day or two or three before I get to that because the guys will be at my house this week to finish the small things in the bathroom and office and I have decided to have the rug in my living room removed and have LVF installed there too. 

I'm still working on the silver and pink quilt, and hope to have that top done this week. 

Machine is Smoking!!

 

My Mother called me the other morning about 10:30 AM. She asked what I was doing. "Sewing on the Pink and Silver Quilt," I told her. "Wow Lynne, 10:30 in the morning and you're already sewing!"

I didn't have heart to tell her I'd been sewing since 8 AM. I was awake, I got up and went directly into the studio (in my nightgown.) When I'm "deep into" a quilt, that's what happens.

Because of the layout of this quilt, there are at least nine blocks that end up in the quilt that cannot fit on the design wall. When I took the photo above, I was working on those extra blocks on the right side.

About forty minutes later I had finished that section on the upper right and was getting ready to work on the section just below.  That didn't take all that long. I did that and then stopped for lunch. After lunch I sewed the big sections together. There were about five or six of them.

Here is that big section all sewn together. I think it's about 74 or so inches wide. It's wider than I normally like, but the design wanted to be that size and I have long known that "what the quilt wants, the quilt should get."

After that I sat down on the porch to read. I read until I finished "The Art of a Lie" by Laura Shepherd-Robinson and DAMN it was good. I did NOT see the ending coming. To say I recommend it is an understatement. Go get / borrow this book and read it! The characters got so much under my skin that when I went to bed the night before I couldn't stop thinking about them, and worrying about them. I can't remember the last time that happened.

PS, when I sent photos of the day's work to my friend Susan, she texted back... "Lynne, you're on fire! Your machine is SMOKING!" 

Ergo the title of this post.

Knowing When It's Time to Stop (for the day)

 

I started sewing this together on Saturday, but didn't get much done. Sunday morning I got up and went right into the studio after breakfast and worked till noon. Then I had lunch and went back. I completed the big area outlined in red in the center. 

After a break of dealing with the bills, I went back into the studio and worked on the area at the top in the center. I wanted to finish that whole section before I stopped for the day but about 4:30 I took a bathroom break and realized my shoulders were hurting. I went back into the studio and looked at it. Nope. I was tired. The last thing I need is to fall off the ladder and hurt myself.

At my age I have to listen to my body. It was time to stop. I put my tools away, turned off the lights and went into the living room to read.

Since I cannot get the entire design up on the design wall I can't sew it together using the webbing technique. Which is fine with me as I have a love/hate relationship with it anyway. So I have been sewing it together the old fashioned way. A pair of blocks at a time. Which is still problematic because the design shifts. When I was working on the center section on Saturday I had to unsew pairs of blocks FIVE different times because I kept sewing the pieces together wrong. That was when I knew it was time to stop that day. (I made a visit to my local art museum instead.)

The next day I moved blocks from the top of the design to my ironing table and worked on one section at a time. This is the section at the upper left.

By the end of Monday I had this. The top left part is in two big chunks. The top right needs six more columns to the right. The blank area is what I am working on now. I am really happy with it.

Office Upgrade

I was interested last week when Gail asked if I would rearrange the studio into a different configuration. I did not, as I was happy with the layout I had been working with for the last eleven years. If something isn't working, I don't just put up with it, I figure out WHY it isn't working and set about fixing it. I wrote about this more than once, but you can read that whole story here.

Over the years I have figured out that I hate stopping in the middle of sewing to wind a bobbin, so I wind 20 bobbins at a time, so it's just faster. I've arranged my tools so I don't have to reach far to get anything and I have duplicates of the tools I use the most often so if I drop a seam ripper and can't find it, I don't have to tear the room apart looking. (That's another story you can read here.)

I have a "thing" about rulers. I love them. I love them as objects. I have some very pretty very specialized rulers that I don't USE at all, but I keep them because I like them. Everybody has something like this. (For my son it's flashlights.)

But I digress.

When I worked as a professional picture framer I got good at LOOKING at something and estimating the dimension of it.  It's a handy skill to have, but sometimes if I'm rummaging around the scrap bins or through the stash I want to know EXACTLY how big something is, I have to go across the room to where the rulers hang on the wall. (Read: Waste of time and steps.)

This is not very efficient. In the "old" studio I had a stick-on measuring tape that I applied to the end of my sewing table. Problem was the print wore off so it stopped being useful. I took advantage of the studio's downtime to remove the cutting mats from my worktables and reattach them with double sided tape (they were coming unstuck and stuff was getting caught on the loose edges.)

While at the hardware store to buy paint for the long shelf, I stopped at the tool section and asked if there were any stick on measuring tapes. Answer = No. The gal with the orange apron suggested I use a regular tape measure and stick that to the table. 

That was kind of a good idea, but those tapes have metal ends and would not have lain flat on the table. I thought some more about it and it occurred to me that the easiest thing to do was to simply attach a normal 24" long metal ruler to the end of my table with double sided tape, so that is what I did. Easy peasy, lemon squeezey and any time I need to measure something quickly I can just lean over and use that ruler.

I arranged it the way I did because I did NOT need the dimensions in 1/16ths. 

Yup. That works!

Silver and Pink Getting Bigger

 

I'm really happy with this, I added another "ring" and started filling in the corners.

While I knew what the layout would look like, I needed to know how much fabric to cut, especially because I knew there was at least one fabric that might run short. So I created this - which represents one quarter of the quilt.

I had an extremely limited amount of the darkest fabric, and after cutting all the strips I could, I realized I might be a bit short, so I gathered all the scraps I had and then sewed them together and cut blocks out of the leftover bits. I shall have enough - by the skin of my teeth.

Had I NOT had enough fabric, I would have had to select another fabric. Oh. Gee. Darn. Wouldn't have been the worst thing on the planet.

I kept filling in the edges, but realized I was happy enough with the layout that I could start sewing blocks together. so I started in the middle.

This is all the blocks that fit on my design wall, but not all the blocks the quilt requires. There are about three more vertical rows on each side. When the quilt is all sewn together it will fit on the design wall, but you'll just have to wait for that.

Silver & Pink, Working it Out

 

After I removed the dark gray, I felt I needed a lighter pink, so I cut a pink Charley Harper fabric with brown birds in it. Then I put them up on the design wall, swapping their positions with the pink blender. Now the gradation from light to dark pink was interrupted, but I liked it better.

Next I shifted the position of the lightest gray. Now instead of at one end of a light to dark run, I placed it in the middle of the other two darker grays. This was better.

BETTER, not great! Still a lot of work to do yet.

I had only a small amount of this gray batik. I did not have enough of it to use it the way I would have wanted to, so it had to go.

Similarly, this Ghastlies print, though I love it very much and has all the colors I want to use, had to go because if I cut it into small rectangles, the fabric wouldn't appear cohesive from block to block, so it had to go too.

Rummaging through my stash I found this, which kinda sorta worked.

I also added a very pale pink.

I was getting closer, but it wasn't quite there. I needed a dark pink. "Well, Lynne, " I thought to myself, "you know full well pink is nothing more than a light red violet, so if you need a dark pink, you're going to have to go into your violet pile and find something that will work."

To my violet pile I went.

I chose the fabric on the right to be the darkest "pink." The fabric on the left is the same value as the darker pink I had in the design before, but the print on this fabric made it more interesting.

So I made those changes and lo and behold, the design was getting better. 

During the day I had been texting Julie, and she did not like the Tula Pink Flamingo pink fabric. I was on the fence about it, as well, so back to the stash I went.

...by the way, you know the world is laughing at you when you realize the shoes you are wearing are pretty much the colors of the project you are working on....

I found a pink fabric with tulips and other flowers, pinks but also some yellows and greens. As soon as I put it up on the design wall I knew it was a keeper.

Yes, this is definitely headed where I want to go.

I filled in the areas around the edges and am happier with this by the minute.

These are the eight fabrics I have on the design wall now. Three of them are ones I started with.

Silver and Pink

 

I've known for some time that I wanted the Silver (Gray) and Pink quilt to be a Trip Around the World with rectangles. I knew I'd have to work it out in my sketchbook to get the right size for the quilt I want to make so the colors would fit. This rough diagram tells me that I need 8 fabrics.

So eight fabrics I did cut. I just cut a few. I need to work it out on the design wall before I know for sure and anybody who tells you they can work it out in their head and know exactly what it's going to look like is just plain lying. Most of us know kinda sorta what it might look like, but not exactly.

So I put the pieces up on the design wall and was decidedly underwhelmed. I  have to stress that this is in the very beginning stages. No decision here is final. I chose these fabrics because there were good changes from light to dark in each.

What I knew immediately was the dark gray took over and I didn't like it. And the whole thing was just blah, and we all know I don't make blah quilts. It was getting late, and I was tired, so I just left it there and went to bed. 

Now I have to go back and tell you a story. Way back in 2013 when I was making the Too Much Chicken quilt, I was getting bogged down in the design stage. Julie been there when I got the initial inspiration for the quilt and she reminded me that what really hit me at that moment was the words I was hearing. The SPIRIT of her very useful comment was that I had to remember exactly WHAT had inspired me to make the quilt. Same idea here. What inspired me to make this quilt was my hairdresser's comment about liking the way my silver hair went with my pink glasses. (Look at my profile photo up on the right,)

The comment was SILVER and not gray! So I knew the vibe of the original layout was all wrong. My hair is SILVER and not dark gray. I hated the dark gray fabric. I pulled those blocks of the design wall and already I like it so much better. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do next, but I do have some things I want to play with.

I met Mary Ellen Hopkins at the big Quilt Festival and Quilt Market in Houston I think back in 2003. She said something I never forgot, and it's great advice. "You need darks in your lights, and lights in your darks."

Backings, Office and Bathroom Update

 

The studio is ready for work, and I wanted to get in there and do something. I had some backing fabrics, so I got a couple of them ready. I bought this Philip Jacobs print for the back of the pastel Macnas quilt. It was yardage, so I had to iron it all, and then seam two pieces together for the backing. So I did that.

I originally bought this fabric for the backing of the yellow Macnas quilt.

When I set it next to the orange and pink Macnas quilt it was pretty clear they belonged together. So I got that ready.

I -also- got the Office all set, I put all the books back in the bookcase, and organized the furniture and the desk, so that room is ready for use. One of the things that has always bothered me about that room is the sliding doors on the big closet. One of the sliding doors kept jamming, and I was always afraid of it because there was a mirror adhered to the door. It was loose, and I was always worried that if I pushed too hard the mirror would fall off and break and cut me badly. I wanted the guys to fix the door issue, and they removed the mirror without breaking it. They'll come back next week and rehang the doors after we paint them. The wallpaper is peeling off the front wall, so the plan is to remove that and paint that one wall. There's no real reason to paint the whole room. I'll be happy with the room after that.

Then I moved to the bathroom and gave it a good clean. The base of the spa tub was covered in carpet, which also hid any access to the plumbing, which was not good because the faucet leaks, making the tub hard to use. We can't cover that base with flooring, so we have to come up with another solution. The guys have an idea of a material to use, and I've left that decision to them. 

After all this the only thing left to do will be to replace the carpet in my bedroom and living room.

It was amazing how much work it was to get the rest of the house clean after moving all the stuff back into the appropriate rooms. I'm tired, but happy the house is back to normal.

The Official New Studio Tour

 

The studio has been put back to rights. This is the view from the door.

Just inside the door on the right are my ironing table, bookcases, 

and fabric stash and design wall. Nothing there was changed.

At the far end of the room. I used to have a table in front of the window at the right,  but it became a place for stuff to pile up and I wanted to stop that. Besides, when I took the table down, I liked the space it freed up. I moved a bookshelf there that was previously at the other end of the room. The bins at right will go back out into the shed. 

Moving back toward the entry, there is my small drafting table. This is convenient for working sitting down. I often plan quilts, or work out the math, while sitting at that table. The top of this table, my sewing table and large worktable are all covered in white cutting mats.

My sewing table is right where it used to be, with everything arranged just the way I like it.

This is my large worktable, and you can see something you almost never could before - a rolling stool I could never use because of the carpet. I generally work at this table standing up, but when I am matching pairs of fabric strips, or pinning pieces together, it's more comfortable to sit.

I -NEVER- sit while cutting fabric. When cutting fabric I always do it standing up.

Behind the work table I've stored my portable ironing table, small step stool, my suitcase containing my teaching traveling kit and the rolling cart I have never used because it wouldn't roll on the carpet. I expect I will use it more frequently now that I can move it around. 

In the top shelf I have put the fabrics I have selected for the Gray and Pink quilt. I am pretty sure I know what I am going to do with that, but my very favorite nine-year-old on the planet (a/k/a DGD) has asked for a quilt and since all quilters live for requests like this, hers will take precedence. Fortunately I have some great ideas. The last time the two of us chatted I sent her pictures and she told me what she liked and didn't like. I have some ideas percolating in my head.

Giving the studio a deep clean cleared out a lot of clutter and made space for me to store things that used to sit out in the open, often gathering dust.

At the far end of the room, I've got a broom, a dustpan and dust-brush, and a Swiffer duster for cleaning up. 

Because a hard floor will be chilly underfoot in the winter, I made a trip to the local Skechers store and bought a nice fuzzy pair of slippers to keep my toesies toasty.

Tomorrow I have to put the books away in the office and restore the bathroom back to normal. After that I'm going to sack out on the couch with a good book.