"Folk Art in the Vineyard" - the quilt and the scoop...

This is what I call "Folk Art in the Vineyard," and it measures 
44 x 53.  The center 12 blocks are from a pattern by Lori Smith called "Folk Art Applique."

I drafted my own borders (Lori's were lovely, but I just can't leave things alone...).

Here are close ups of the blocks...I hand quilted in both white (on the colors) and black (to outline and quilt the background).

I just can't seem to be able to photograph this quilt and capture the black-on-black quilting.  I threw the gamma out on a couple of the pictures to try and show you, but it didn't work very well.  There is a chunky, diagonal crosshatching going on behind all the blocks, then piano key quilting on the outer borders.

Here's the bottom border, and below it a picture where I adjusted the gamma to wash the color out so you can see the quilting.

I am insane and like making these grape clusters.  Quilting around all the grapes was a challenge this time (read to the end for the saga).  I was inspired to make grapes on this due to my Dad's Muscadine grape arbor.

The corners feature a quilted arch that copies the scalloped flow of the inner border and a couple of hearts.

Now, the scoop...unfortunately, there is a scoop.  

I chose a wool batting for this quilt.  I had successfully hand quilted a larger wall hanging with a wool batt a few years ago (my "Home Sweet Home" by Blackbird Designs, from a book by the same name), and wanted to repeat the enjoyable, successful process.

That older quilt was so much fun to quilt, and the finished product has such a nice drape, and it is hanging on my family room wall.

Well, this time around was not a good experience.  My wool batt was very inconsistent in thickness...normal in some places, REALLY thick in others.  I went ahead and basted it together, thinking Hobbs wouldn't sell an inferior batt...it would "quilt out."

Well, if you've hand quilted a wool batt, you know there is a little compression you have to do as you go along with your stitching.  Well, there were places that were just downright impossible to compress easily.  

I felt like I was quilting a super loft polyester batt...something you would use in a tied comforter.  I put it aside and didn't bind it, and sort of forgot about it.  I was so disappointed in choosing the wrong batt.  I took it to Sauder Village last Sunday for the show, and after some urging from the family, I entered it in AQS-Grand Rapids...7.5 hours before the deadline, LOL.  I don't have a lot of hope for it...I think the quilting quality is not good...little stitches in some places, bigger stitches in the really thick areas.  But, I like the look of the bright colors on the clear Kona black background.

(I had a DEVIL OF A TIME getting the cat hair off of it, LOL.

All you hand quilters out there...I would love to know what batt you use.  Is there a kind of wool you like?  If you have a favorite cotton, do you pre-shrink it?  I am using a Dream Cotton "select" weight on the "Baltimore Rhapsody" quilt.  I did not pre-shrink it this time.  I have pre-shrunk that brand before...especially for high school and college quilts that were machine quilted (and I knew they would get washed a lot).

I chose the wool again because it had been such a good quilting memory before.  I wash all my fabric before using it, so I knew there would be minimal shrinkage with the wool.

Have you tried bamboo...or silk??

We put so much time into these quilts, using the right batt can make or break it for me with the hand quilting.  I used too thin a batt on my "Civil War Bride Quilt" (Dream Cotton, "request" weight).

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Stumbling through the town and the batting debate...

I have finally moved past just outline quilting the applique shapes of my "All Around the Town" quilt (Sue Garmon).  The outlining is pleasant because it requires no marking and very little thought.  That kind of mindless quilting was perfect while I was sick recently.

This weekend I started adding texture and personality to the actual applique shapes.  The outline quilting makes the shapes a little puffy (which I'm not crazy about), even though I use a minimal loft cotton batt.  I add quilting to tame that effect (and it also further anchors the applique pieces).  I like to hide little quilting motifs that reflect my personality (see the peace sign on the brick building?  it's a subtle message...).

I love trees and nature, so I decided to reflect that by filling the trees with hearts.

It's also fun to let the fabric tell me how to quilt something.

When I use architectural fabrics on buildings, I challenge myself to quilt them with little filler motifs that "match," like these roofing fabrics.

 I am also adding fill to the large grassy lawns of each house.

Some of the little features get a few quilting details.

I decided to quilt the borders before quilting the sky.  I guess I'm saving the sky for last because I think that will really make things "pop" (kind of like saving the outlining for last when doing counted cross-stitch).  It doesn't snow up very well on the border fabric I used, and I'm a poor photographer (which doesn't help).

I'm a little disappointed in my batting choice.  I like to make as small of stitches as possible when I quilt, especially when I am trying to add tiny detail to tiny pieces.  But it is a trade off.  The greater the batting loft, the better the stitches are displayed, but with greater loft it is harder and slower to make tiny stitches.

I found this to be a problem with my Civil War Bride as well.  On that quilt, I chose a light brown quilting thread which compounded the problem.  With minimal loft and matching quilting thread, it is hard to see the stitches.  My "ta-da!" moment was lessened because I spent all that time doing a lot of pretty good quilting, and it wasn't even visible.  Major bummer!  The border has double piano key quilting behind all the applique and it doesn't even show up!

There's a better picture of one of the quilted corners here on the Civil War Bride Blog where the quilting shows up pretty well.  Susi of Susi's Quilts used a loftier batting on her finished Bride quilt, and her beautiful quilting is shown at a good advantage, as seen here, also on the Civil War Bride Blog.

The low loft of the cotton batting doesn't quilt with enough dimensional contrast...there's no shadow, not enough cool 3-D effect.  When I look at the pictures, I even doubt that it is hand quilted, and I quilted it!  All that work and effort on hand applique and hand quilting, and I blew it on my batting choice!  When it was hanging in a show last year, I overheard someone comment, "it's not even quilted..."  I died right then and there...

That is one reason I decided to use natural colored quilting thread on this quilt which has so many dark fabrics.  I used a low loft batt again, but wanted to stitches to be seen.  I'm still not happy.  When I made "Home Sweet Home," I used an heirloom wool batt.

It was a little harder to make tiny stitches, but I managed to do it.  It had enough loft for my quilting to really stand out.  It also has a beautiful drape.

The wool was a little more expensive, but I think I've finally learned my lesson.

If you are a hand quilter, is there a particular batt you like to use?!?

Thank you for all your input on Block of the Month programs (see my last post if you would like to wade in and post an opinion).  As this post is SO-O-O long, I will talk about that next time.

In stitches,

Teresa  :o)

More on "going rogue"...

I started talking about "going rogue" in my last post.  By that, I mean changing an idea, a pattern or going against the norm.  I've always had a tendency to do this, and I think I feel a certain amount of "quilt guilt" about it.  

This is HOME SWEET HOME from a book by the same name by Barb Adams and Alma Allen.  I finished it in early 2008.  I love every book and project these talented ladies publish, and I had every intention of doing it just like the book when I started. In fact, blocks one, two and five are exactly like they intended.  But then, the rogue-ness crept in when I started block three...I had to add my daughter flying a kite.  By block eight, I had my, then, 10-year-old daughter designing a horse for me to include (I mean, I saw the fence and naturally thought of horses - my daughter rides and she doodles pictures of horses on everything she can find).  Well, then I thought we needed apples and an apples tree to keep the horse happy, and whenever I think of happy horses I think of sunshine and rainbows!  Before long I was hopelessly lost in rogue-land.

I was even rogue-ish in my hand-quilting with every block done differently, hiding little quilting motifs everywhere I could.  What is wrong with me!  Barb and Alma's original pattern was so lovely...here is one of their interpretations from their book..

 

It would be more honest to design my own quilt, rather then change someone else's creativity, but I don't feel like I am artistic enough to do that or maybe I'm just "chicken" (or lazy).

I love, love, love the CIVIL WAR BRIDE QUILT and Civil War Bride Quilt blog dedicated to people working on this fabulous project. 

 

It is my favorite project right now (now if I could just clear my schedule and calendar...).  I originally thought that I would do each of the twenty blocks just like Corliss Searcey designed them in her pattern, based on the original BIRD OF PARADISE quilt top.

 

But then, I remembered that she had taken liberties with the original quilt top, unfinished and located in the Museum of Folk Art in New York City.  Also, I started seeing all the lovely blocks my new friends from around the world were posting as they completed them on their own Civil War Bride journeys,  Then it hit me...EVERYBODY GOES ROGUE in their own way and IT'S OK!!!!  

As the Civil War Bride quilt will ultimately be my daughter's some day...probably her wedding quilt...I am planning to go rogue on some of the blocks to make it reflect a bit of her personality (and mine).