"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)

Falling Short...

Well, despite all the tremendous encouragement and support from all of you, I did not finish "Baltimore Rhapsody" in time to enter it in the Sauder Village Quilt Show in northwest Ohio, which opens next Tuesday.  I also will miss this Monday's deadline for registering the quilt for the August AQS show in Grand Rapids.

I am really close to finishing, I feel, so it will be finished soon.  It was. maybe, a little unrealistic, considering the other events that were on my calendar (like running a huge fundraiser dinner this past Friday night for my daughter's school music program and all my music responsibilities at the church).

Last week, I broke down the quilting tasks that remained on this clipboard, mostly to help me realize that maybe I was crazy to think I would finish it before Sunday, April 28.

Every time I quilted something, I went over a tally mark with my black pen.  Then I started timing how long it took me to do tasks, then multiplied the minutes by the numbers of elements left.  Then I stopped with the obsessive marking.  Yikes.

I thought that all the cross-hatching was the time-consuming part.  Then I started quilting the blocks and swags, and...OMG...all that takes a lot of time.

And all those little creative hand quilting touches are so much more fun when there is not a gun to your head!

I remembered that hand quilting is my therapy...not what PUTS me in therapy.

So, tomorrow I go to drop off my quilt offerings for the Sauder show.  I am not going empty-handed, so that is comforting.  Was it tough not making my deadline...YOU BET!

I've been so down the last week and sad that I didn't finish, but then I ripped off the Wonder Woman cape and hid it in the back of the closet.  One of the quilts I am taking is this one...not exactly "Baltimore Rhapsody, but I am proud of it.

I named it "Folk Art in the Vineyard."  The center blocks are from Lori Smith's pattern Folk Art Applique, and I designed and added the two borders.  I will post more details and close-ups next time.

Thank you again for cheering me on...it meant so much to read your comments and emails.  I really am so lucky to have all of you in my virtual quilting bee!

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Midwest quilting marathon...

I have been hand quilting EVERY SPARE MINUTE of every day...actually trying to create time at this point.  I am nearly insane, and I was so close to crazy before I started.  Part of me still thinks I can reach my deadline of April 28.  Yep, TOTALLY insane...

I started hand quilting on April 4.  It has been a push.  After basting it, I went to find the longest quilt poles for the frame Steve made me when we first met.  The quilt measures 96 x 96, and of course my longest poles are exactly 96 inches long, so, too short for this quilt...NUTS!

Off to the nice lumber place in Ann Arbor where Steve got those clear Poplar square poles for me 23 years ago.  These are 120 inches long.  I had them custom cut before I thought about how I would get them home in my small Subaru SUV...thank goodness for the moon roof.  I quickly sanded them, sealed them with clear polyurethane, and stapled "ticking" to them.

I then spent 2 days basting.  That gave me time to think about how I would quilt the beast.

I decided on a one inch diagonal grid for the center 36 square feet of the quilt (behind the 16 blocks).  I started out with one inch wide painter's tape, but was having trouble with it sticking to my quilt.  This was mostly because Weasley, my cat, is addicted to tape, and he would untape an area faster then I could stick it down.  I would get up to go to the bathroom and come back to find all tape removed.  I wish he was addicted to soap scum.

So I gave in and decided to use the clover blue pen with the lightest possible line.  I spritz with a spray water bottle as I go to remove the lines.  See all my threads hanging?  I used to leave needles threaded as I moved to another needle, but I can't do that with the cat.  I just leave the long thread tale and come back to it as I roll the quilt.

After spritzing to remove the blue lines, I let the quilted area hang loose and dry before rolling the area around the poles.  I would just shoot myself if mildew grew!  Fortunately, the cat has not discovered the lovely quilted hammock...yet...

I've actually finished the first 400 yard spool of YLI thread now...

The family is being VERY patient, as this frame with the 120 inch poles takes up the entire length (and most of the available width) of the family room.

Sorry not to post more often...I am stitching, stitching, stitching.  On Friday, I will determine whether I push forward, or give up the insane idea of having the quilt finished by April 28.  Then I will check myself into a nice NUT HOSPITAL!

In stitches (and in-SANE!), 
Teresa  :o)

Really, REALLY done and an interview...

Thank you, Ola!  You rescued my poor, weak corners!  

I thought that the corners were weak.  I had to make each corner F clef "heart" this size to keep the clef sizes in correct proportion to each other.  I was thinking of adding a flower or some fruit to build up each corner.

Ola suggested something in keeping with the rest of the swags.  She told me to go home and make paper dolls - fold some paper and start cutting/auditioning some motifs.  She's brilliant!  I love how she suggested an old technique that was often used in designing Baltimore album style quilts.

My interview from the AQS show finally showed up on YouTube's QuiltTV...nothing like a long car trip and a poor night's sleep to make one fresh and perky for an on-camera interview!

Today I am basting, basting, basting.  Did anyone watch the new PBS Masterpiece Classic "Mr. Selfridge" last night?

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Good Friday, indeed...

"Holy Good Friday, Batman, "Baltimore Rhapsody"

has four outer borders and corners!"  

(Those corners aren't quite finished, but they are attached...)

It's not quite a top yet, but it should be by Easter Sunday.  I think I will add something else above the F clef "hearts" because I don't think the corners are strong enough...more flowers, or maybe some musical notes.  This music quilt has no music notes...weird!

Thank you to everyone for the helpful comments concerning the arrangement of the blocks.  It was so difficult to make that final commitment, but it is done now.  

Designing by the seat of your pants, thinking about each block and not thinking about the final quilt, certainly made that final choice more difficult...balancing overall shape, color, angle and size of instruments, scattering of birds, etc.

I need to finish appliqueing the corners, decide how much to trim off the outside, and finally top stitch around the edges...THEN comes the basting, YIPPEE!!  I am so eager to start hand quilting this sucker!

I am also considering appliqueing tiny initials and the the date like I did on my Civil War Bride quilt.  I love how charming that little detail looks on antique quilts, I just need to figure out where so it doesn't disturb the overall balance or stick out too much. 
  

Between this project, Holy Week, and trying not to be nominated for "Worst Wife and Mom of the Year," I have not answered many comments lately.  Sorry!  I will get to each and every one at some point.  Thank you for your patience.  Your participation has made this journey so much more enjoyable for me...actually tolerable at some low-spirit times.  Thank you for hanging in there with me!

Happy Easter, Happy Spring, Happy Passover, Happy Spring Break...oh, Happy Everything!

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Winners and the 40-hour road trip...

First things first, thank you so much for your sweet congratulations and hilarious comments about Downton Abbey.

Between blog comments and emails, here's a tally of the popularity of character mentions from this favorite BBC/PBS Masterpiece Theater presentation:

Branson - 6
Carson - 9
Matthew - 6
Lady Sybil - 6
Lady Mary - 9
Thomas - 1
Dowager Countess Violet - 19
Countess Cora - 1
Ms. Hughes - 7
Ms. Pattmore - 2
Isobel (Matthew's mum) - 1
Lord Grantham - 4
Lady Edith - 5
Bates - 4
Anna - 7

I love them ALL, but I am really trying to figure out a way that Branson and Lady Edith will get together, or maybe Branson and Lady Mary(?), Branson and the Dowager(??), Ms. Hughes and Carson(???), the Dowager and Carson (????).  Come on, Season Four! 

I think we all would like to by spunky like the Dowager some day...

Using the Random Number Generator, our 2 winners of the Downton Abbey T-shirts are:

BJ Elder and Barb. 

Congratulations!  I wish I had a T-shirt for everyone!  

It seems like a long time until Season Four of Downton will air.  I have been re-watching earlier seasons while appliqueing my long borders - what was I thinking when I made them so busy?

I was scanning through the freebies on NetFlix yesterday afternoon while in my hand applique sweat shop (temporary nickname for the Quilt Cave...) and found the BBC drama "North and South" in 4 episodes.  It was FABULOUS, so if you are suffering from a Downton Abbey hangover, watch "North and South" as a little "hair of the dog," so to speak.  (new crush: Richard Armitage...sigh...)

Now on to the "Thelma and Louise (minus Louise) AQS Lancaster Quilt Show Trip" - this post REALLY should have been called "How NOT to go to a fabulous quilt show."  Lots of things I would have done differently:

1)  I made the round trip in less than 40 hours (and that includes more than 14 hours of driving, part of the return trip in the middle of the night with snow...).  I had a limited window of time to make the trip.  Next time I will cancel something so I can spend more time seeing everything and HAVING FUN!

2)  DON'T GO ALONE!!  Quilt shows are always more fun WITH someone else.  I should have at least made some firm plans to try and meet up with blog buddies (or kidnapped people here for the road trip).

I was looking for a couple of familiar faces, which I never saw, but I did bump into the same woman 9 times...it was almost as if we were stalking each other.  If I had seen her in Amish country, I probably would have been really freaked out.

I mean, seriously...if a person spent too much on patterns in one particular vendor booth, and no girlfriend was there to see it, did money really exchange hands??

3)  Don't try to see EVERYTHING (including some of Pennsylvania Amish Country) in one day...it is impossible and will just make you crazy. 

4)  Don't gush when talking to pattern stars like Lori Smith when purchasing patterns in person at their booth(s).  She was WAY busy (she is very popular and was working the booth solo) and they will NEVER remember that you met briefly over a VISA machine.

5)  Make sure to get that long overdue hair cut before leaving town...you never know when the camera will be on you (AQS did a video interview with me...should appear on YouTube QuiltTV at some point - if anyone finds the interview, after you've stopped laughing, send me a link!).

6)  Don't try and take your own picture of you and your quilt...you will just look pathetic and it won't work.  Ask some nice person to take one for you.  

But remember to HAND THEM YOUR CAMERA when you make your request, LOL.  I, sheepishly, asked a person, and they took one with THEIR camera and continued on to the next quilt.  I'm sure she got home and had a good laugh about THAT one...
  
7)  Commit to the trip sooner, stay closer to the venue, and don't try and find the absolute cheapest room in the tri-state area...Firty-two bucks did get a bed and working shower in York, PA, but it wasn't too great as a place to applique overnight before the show.

8)  Keep your tool purchases focused on what is needed to finish a current project.  I found this neat tool to help adjust the tension in my hoop (and save my fingers) and a pure graphite marking system for preparing my "Baltimore Rhapsody" quilt top for hand quilting.  

I also bought some 50-cent batting squares from the Hobbs booth so I can make my final batting decision in the next couple of days.

9)  And finally, don't get upset when your quilting buddy finds new people to hang out with while you are gone.  Find a prize or two to take home and share...

In stitches,
Teresa   :o)

"All Around the Town" takes a prize at AQS Lancaster...

The verdict is in..."All Around the Town" takes a 3rd place ribbon in the "Wall Quilt: Hand Quilted" category at the AQS International Quilt Show in Lancaster, PA. Yee-haw!

The show opens this morning and the winners were supposed to be available by 8:40 AM online.  I have not located them yet.  I actually got a nice phone call late yesterday afternoon...that is the witching hour in our house for robo-calls and unknown people selling stuff and asking for money.  

I did not recognize the phone number and ALMOST DIDN'T PICK UP!  I'm glad I did, because it was a courtesy call letting me know about my quilt taking a prize.  Andrea of AQS wanted to know if and when I was coming to the show to set up some sort of interview (???).  Then came the blood-curdling scream as I hung up...

I will be at the show on Friday...anyone else going on Friday??

To celebrate, let's have a give-away!  It's been way too long since  we did that.  I have two beautiful, brand-spanking-new Downtown Abbey T-shirts, both are red and size 2X (I thought they might shrink a little...).

3 rules:

1)  You have to be (or become) a follower of Fabric Therapy to participate.

2)  You have to tell us who your favorite Downton Abbey character is and why (if you have not watched Downton yet, just pick a good, British, uppercrusty name, and make up a reason you just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that person...).

3)   Your comment must be time and date-stamped BEFORE midnight EST Friday night, March 15.  I will post winners on Monday.

Have a great weekend and maybe I will bump into you at the Lancaster show...I will be the tall, large woman with a #@*&-eating grin on my face...

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Ready to take the plunge...

The first appliqued outer border strip for "Baltimore Rhapsody" is all stitched up and ready to plunge in water to soak the glue out.

I prepped more than I had time to work on in Alabama...big surprise.  (I always pack quilting projects like I am going to a deserted island for a week...I WISH!)

I am liking the swags with the holes in them.  They take a little longer to applique down due to the additional edges to secure down.

The effort is worth it.  The last swag border I did (on the wall above the couch) poofs out, caused by the compression of the batting from all the hand quilting that surrounds the swags.  That has always bugged me.  Since I will be hand quilting inside these little swag cut-outs or vents, my swags won't be poofy.  YIPPEE!

Three more outer borders to go...

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Some outer border resolution...

OK, so I have finally made some sort of decision about the outer borders of "Baltimore Rhapsody."  I will stitch one of the border strips, and see if it is truly what I want.

I will use F clefs in the corners, in a heart motif.  THAT I will figure out after I get the four long strips done.  I am really liking the swags with the holes in them.  The G clefs are a little intense...and I have to make 24 of them...oy!  Fortunately, I have 148 leftover purple circles, so I hopefully don't have to make more of them!

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)