Where the Walls Have Eyes, Part 13

Where the Walls Have Eyes, Part 13

This part took so long to complete! Wahhhh! I took hundreds of photos along the way, and it has taken me a while to narrow it down a bit.  And, it is still too many photos for one post, so I will be making two posts about the building.

It is all hand sewn, like the prototype. Every seam is a different color.  Some of the seams have 2 squares, some have 3, and some have 4.  As expected the ones with 4 pieces being combined in a single seam were the most difficult physically.  I am pushing a needle through 4 quilted pieces while it is threaded with 6 strands of embroidery floss. Chonky! 

And, trying to remember the orientation of the thing while it is rotated many times during stitching. I selected one face (the front), and put a safety pin in it, to ease my confusion. There are also a number of different color patterns INSIDE the cube, that were a bit cumbersome to remember. 

The first row is completed, and now I move on to those even more tricky seams with 4 pieces at a time. After the first one, I wanted to quit! 

I am starting to get the hang of it! More rows on the first layer! I am also learning that the hand sewing is very stressful to my hands. And it tweaks my tendons, so I started doing hand therapy and getting out the forceps to pull the needle most of the time.

But, I did not. Breaks and rest time are a crucial part of this project! Here is the complete first layer. Every little interior cube will have 4 walls, a floor and a ceiling. The little interior cubes will share their walls, and floors and ceilings with adjoining little cubes. The beautiful colors and threads kept me going!

My stash of embroidery floss.  I had no idea when I started how much thread I would need.  I ended up shopping for more thread about 4 times throughout the project. 

I also changed the color scheme before I started. I liked the aqua blue so much better than the navy blues, that I opted to have all the external sides the brighter and lighter blue. I worked out the math because the entire structure was envisioned with a different set of colors, which were made to order. And, with a few modifications, I was able to make the change. I am so glad I did. I absolutely LOVE the aqua color on the outside.  

I also preplanned the layout of the external sides, to make sure that I was able to both have enough pieces, and that I could arrange those pieces in a pleasing layout.

You can see some of the missing pieces above, which shows how far along I was when I took this photo! 

On to the next level!

And flipped over...

And looking through some holes...

These process photos of looking in the holes before the 'ceilings' are sewn on, have an abundance of light, which really shows off the wonderful colors.  Once the ceilings are sewn on, this beautiful view gets lost, or maybe I should say, goes private? 

Stay tuned. I will post the rest of the process photos and the final project next week. Nearly there!

Untitled, Part 7

Untitled, Part 7

note: In case you are wondering, yes, I do have a couple of titles floating around for this project, I just haven't settled on the right one yet.

Meanwhile:

I was a bit concerned that all the tiny repetitive circular free motion quilting (from the last post) would cause injury to my rotator cuffs.  So instead of finishing the quilting on ALL these little pieces, I planned to start the next step at the same time. That way, I could alternate sewing jobs, utilizing different muscles, and hopefully not get a repetitive stress injury.  

The next step is satin stitching the blocks. And, I wanted to use as many different color combinations as possible. So, I got out my thread chart samples and I inventoried my supply. I opted to buy a lot of new thread to extend my stash of threads. It was so fun to have them come in!! This selection is mostly Magnifico from Superior Threads. 

Also, I knew the back sides of the blocks were going to show, so I wanted the thread color on the back to match the thread color on the front. This also meant I had to buy some more empty bobbins, and fill them as I went. I used some Bottom Line (also from Superior Threads) for the bobbins, mostly because I had such a big stash of Bottom Line and also, it works really great in the bobbins and has excellent color choices!

Here's the part where I tried to decide which thread colors to use for each quilted block, trying to maintain a variety of color combinations. I am also very aware that this many color choices will mean that I need to change the thread in my machine frequently. It can be frustrating to have such a demanding muse!

Let the stitching begin! Something about working with these shiny colorful threads paired with the matte finish of the batik blocks was visually satisfying to me. I enjoyed this phase immensely. It was a lot more fun that quilting in a matching thread color.

I also found it easier to turn the quilted pieces under the sewing machine if I trimmed the quilted pages to only 2 squares wide. This will also help out later, for the next round of stitching! Isn't it interesting how the different colors of satin stitching thread make the color of the batik look different? These are all pink batiked squares, but the pinks look different to me depending on the threads surrounding them.

Meanwhile, of note....the satin stitching, especially at the speed I was going, was loud. So, I wore hearing protectors while working.  And part way through the project, my sewing machine broke. I had that machine since about 2008, or maybe before then? It was a low end Pfaff, and I bought it just for satin stitching because of all the machines I tested, it performed the best.  Now, the presser foot was broken, and it just would not work. I opted to buy a new machine instead of waiting the 5-8 weeks turn-around time for a repair. I also did not know if they would be able to make a repair of this nature and had entered a bizarre world of sewing machine repairs previously with my Juki.  I didn't have the heart to go there again. However, I kept my trusty broken Pfaff, thinking I would get it repaired and have a back up, but I haven't done it yet....

The new Pfaff. They don't sell my favorite machine anymore. I was heartbroken. I don't like changes. So, I went on-line, directly to Pfaff, and bought the closest thing they had to my old machine. On the bright side, it came with a needle threader, which I absolutely adore, and it made the numerous thread changes bearable. The day after I bought the machine, it went on sale. Nuts! I called and asked if they would honor the sales price, and refund me the difference? They said YES! Very, very nice of them! Then they sent me a refund for the full price of the machine, and never billed me for the sale price. I tried calling, it took 4 attempts to get through their phone system, but I finally got to speak to a human. I told them what happened and that I still needed to pay for the machine. They thanked me for my honesty, and then, they still never billed me. ??? I really tried to make this right, but ultimately, it didn't happen. So, I got a new free machine, by accident. I would still pay for it, today, if they would give me a way to pay for it. 

Back to the project, I enjoyed working my way through the giant pile of quilting, because the satin stitching was my reward! I also require chocolate, from time to time, to help with the motivation for the huge work load. This was my favorite.

Untitled, Part 5

Untitled, Part 5

the dyeing and wax removal

One of the most rewarding parts of batik is applying the dye, and it was finally time! 

First was deciding how many of each little square I would need in each color.  For the yellow, I only needed 6, but I made a few extra.  And, for my special 6, I wanted them to each have different colors for the motifs.  And, for the motif to show, I would not select any of the same color as the dye used at this point. So, I selected anything but yellow.  Since I needed so few pieces, I cut off the 6 individual squares from the pages, which left me with quite small pieces to work with. Here they are after boiling out the wax, rinsing, and hanging on the line outside.

The greens were slightly bigger.  I was able to cut off strips from the pages.  I would need a little over 100 for the project, so I was able to sample most of the colors.  

The aqua colors were even bigger pieces because I needed over 300 of those.  The cut out shapes are getting bigger and odder.  However, when I finally got to the quilting stage of this project, it would become so much easier with larger pieces and less edges.  The tiny yellows would be the hardest to quilt, and the biggest pieces became the easiest ones to quilt.  So, I was trying to optimize area, and minimize the size of the edges. 

Last will be the bright blue dyes. I needed over 700 of these little square motifs. And these were the biggest part of the pages that I prepared. They also took up the most room on my dyeing surface, a reclaimed sliding glass door. This took many days because there was a lot of work, and relatively little surface area to do the dyeing. I arranged the pieces flat on the glass surface and applied the dye with a big paint brush. The brushing of the dye also allowed me to brush out air bubbles that invariably arise. The wax on the fabric puffs up a bit thicker than the surrounding fabric. Those air bubbles can cause some interesting texture when dyeing, but that is not the look I was looking for here. 

The dyeing surface, with wax and dye still on the pages.

Note the difference between the above photo and the one below it.  The lower photo has the wax boiled out and the fabric has been rinsed and is drying on the line.  All the colors finally pop!

After all the dyes had been applied, each page is left to process overnight, and then rinsed with water multiple times.  Next is the wax removal. That part is done in a giant pot of boiling water on my stove in my kitchen.  This was a really big project and it took many days to boil out all the wax. Each piece is slowly lowered into the giant pot of boiling water and swished around with tongs.  Then it is slowly lifted out of the water in an attempt to avoid the wax floating on the surface.  I have a few tricks to help with that!  

I was able to boil out 4 or 5 pages of work before the water became too concentrated with excess dye.  Then each fabric page was taken outside and dried on the line and rinsed again with water from a hose.  This is the stage where you can feel and see any clumps of residue wax and it just rolls off the surface when brushed with your hand.  Next they were washed with soap and hot water in my washing machine, and then dried again.  I also let my big pots of boiling water cool before disposal, because then I can skim the wax off the surface of the water before tossing the water down the drain.  I didn't want the wax clogging up my drains! ps. It takes a long time for a giant pot of water to cool...

Finally my stack of fabrics to make the project!

Untitled, Part 3

Untitled, Part 3

After completing the application of the wax, it is time for removing most of the dye.  I worked outside on my driveway to disperse the fumes.  It also helps to work in the sun because the sun helps with the bleach discharge process.  Unfortunately my driveway had a good amount of shade, so I kept having to move my work space as the sun moved across the sky. (Note: I lost some of those trees, and now I very much miss the shade they provided!)

I added one piece of waxed fabric at a time, into a big rectangular storage box which had the bleaching agent already in it.  I used about 2 gallons of water mixed with 1 cup of bleach.  While it is reasonably dilute bleach, it is not anything you want to soak your hands in.  I used gloves and tongs to move the fabric around and then watched the colors lighten up! As it got closer to the bleaching out the color, I would remove it and place it on the concrete, and then add another piece of batiked fabric.  I used water from a hose to rinse the fabric, trying to keep the runoff on the concrete so that it wouldn't harm my plants or lawn. If it didn't look light enough after drying, I would repeat the process.

This process involves a lot of sitting and waiting, and also tending to the fabric at just the right time. Unfortunately, we were having a record setting heat wave while I was doing this, so the work was pretty brutal. I had outdoor fans and ice water, and I waited in the shade while my work was in the sun.  When I would feel the effects of the heat, I would halt the process and go inside to the air conditioning and lie down on the cool tile floor. It took a lot more time working this way than I would have liked, but it needed to be done.  I still can't believe that I don't have any photos of all of this.  I was concentrating so hard on getting the work done, that I forgot to document it.  Sorry about that!

The results:

The darker parts, the squares and circle motifs, have wax on them here; thus protecting the beautiful and intense colors safely under the wax. 

I gradually transitioned each piece from the concrete, where it kept trying to blow away, to my zipline in the backyard. I would give it a second thorough rinse and then let it dry outside for at least a day or two. Then I would start again.  Remember, I had 22 of these to do.  This set is almost halfway there. 

Some colors bleached better than others.  I also did not want the wax to crack, so I tried to minimize the folding and crinkling of the fabric while it had wax on it. Some of the colors were so resistant to bleaching, and had to be processed multiply times, and have the cracks to show for it!

The inability to remove more of the orange and golden colors will affect the next step, the overdyeing.  However, it is part of the charm of having a slightly blended color with the next layer.  It makes the original clear and bright colors pop a little bit more. So, it's all good!

Untitled, Part 2

Untitled, Part 2

In the entire project, this is easily the most relaxing and contemplative step, adding the wax. Notice the pencil lines in the top of the photo? This is a first for me.  I know how big I want the finished piece to be, so I am using the pencil lines to make sure I have enough room around the motif to accomplish the task.  The pencil lines will eventually disappear throughout the process, but as long as the stamped square is basically in the middle, I am good!

This is my wax pot, an electric skillet.  It is set on the lowest setting, just enough heat to melt the wax. I love seeing the reflection of the window on the surface!  Here is my stamping tool, a piece of a cardboard rectangular box, that when stamped produces a square.  I have used it on many, many projects with this motif.

After stamping the squares, I add circles to the centers. Then repeat, a lot. 

Here is a shot of "one page".  It has 56 motifs stamped in wax and held in place on a wooden frame with giant thumb tacks. I will need 20 more of these for my project, but I am going to add some extras, just in case anything goes wrong, for a total of 22 pages of little stamped squares and circles. And, all of this intense and beautiful color! Most of it will disappear in the next step, where I remove the dye from everything that is not stamped in wax. Only the waxed designs will keep their color.  

Here are a few of my previous projects with this motif.

Urban Dwellers

Cookie Cutter Condos

Windows

Untitled, as of yet...

Untitled, as of yet....

This project began 2 years ago. And I am finding that writing about it is equally as daunting as making it. And, I didn't want to write about it until I knew it could be done. This one was taking a risk, and on a large scale.

It started as a concept, which I will get to at a later post. For now, it was all about....

The math.

It wasn't hard, except that I kept getting lost in the 3 dimensions and overthinking it.  If I could have realized the simplicity of the system, I think I could have gotten there.  So, I went to my go-to, my son. I explained the project and he immediately knew how to do it.  So, not only did he calculate the numbers for me, he also explained his reasoning, succinctly, and then it all made sense.  But the number he calculated was so large, it was almost unbelievable. I was going to need over 1200 little quilted blocks to make this thing! Nuts!!

That is a lot of fabric. And, a lot of fabric to dye. I was easily able to extract the numbers for each section of the project into yardage. I decided to use pieces that would easily fit on my batik frames. And, I had a roll of plain white fabric 58" wide to use up, so I was good to go.  I made sure to include room for error and have some excess between all the pieces and enough to attach to the frames.

These are the photos after the first cold water rinse, hanging on the line.  They will still need to be washed with soap and hot water in the washing machine.  

The dyeing:  I measured the dye, the soda ash, and water, and mixed in the blender. Then I put my wet and wrung out fabric in a bucket and poured the dye mix on top. Wearing gloves, I scrunched the fabric around a lot in the dye mixture until the fabric was completely coated. The fabric is squeezed lightly to remove the excess dye and carefully placed inside a ziploc plastic baggie.  Then the bags are set in the sun.  I usually flip them every hour or so, and leave them in the bags until the next day.

With a lot of colors and cleanup between each one, it is a lot of work. And, I did it in the summer because the dyes work better at warmer temperatures.  These are from the summer of 2022.

And, keep in mind, the next step is the batik, and most of the color you see here will be removed with a bleach discharge step after the batik...

Mother Nature's All-Inclusive Rainbow Flower Garden

Mother Nature's All-Inclusive Rainbow Flower Garden
80" x 79"

because nature loves ALL the colors...

and, in nature, diversity is a plus, it makes the entire system stronger.

Something to think about.

This one started when my Juki broke last year.  I had taken it to a shop to be repaired, (where they kept it but did not fix it), and wandered around their shop.  I fell hard for some beautiful florals.  I had an idea that I could stitch them up, mostly as fat quarters, and make a back for one of my quilts.  You can see that post here.

And, though the fabrics were so beautiful, they did NOT look beautiful from my first idea. It was quite a surprise when I tossed them up on my design wall and kept moving them around and nothing worked.  I slept on it, for several nights.  It is hard to give up an idea that has failed.  The thing I kept seeing was circles.  Circles are harder than squares, and I still wanted it to be squares/rectangles.  Fortunately, I did not have time to work on it, so it sat on a shelf waiting it's turn.  

Then I paired those lovely florals with some solids, and I got excited! That's when I realized I wanted this to be a rainbow gradient of sorts. I wanted to drop everything to start this quilt! Surprising how a pile of fabrics can give that adrenaline rush! But my studio was filled with other projects.  It was hard to wait.

Finally, I got plugging away.  I made some quick templates for my big circles out of freezer paper, and started cutting the pieces.

I started digging through my stash to find more colors of the floral fabrics to go into the centers.  There were some, but not enough, so I shopped for even more.  This quilt turned out to be the opposite of what I like to do, which is to make use of what I already have. But, my heart was telling me to go for it, and I am glad I did.  

I also took the time to trim the seams so that the colors did not show through on the front. You can see the dark line where the pencil is pointing.  This is what it looks like right after pressing the seam.

 

Trimming the seam helps this little issue!

Here are a few closeups of the circles and their floral prints:

I rushed to finish piecing the top, hoping that I could get it in my photo shoot with Quiltfolk, and I did! They were fine with it being just a quilt top! Good things all around.

photo by Trevor Holloway

I hand basted it. And then set about quilting it.

That black masking tape came in handy again when trying to mark the lines for quilting!

The quilt in person is just so lovely. It has a lovely texture and a lovely emotional quality that is warm and inviting.  I just love it. Here's a detail of the quilting:

I can say that the choice of quilting concentric circles around the solid rings was a difficult maneuver.  It was tough to turn the entire quilt around inside my sewing machine.  It was one of those just barely manageable endeavors, but I love the way it looks!

 Photo shoot on the front of my house, a little bit of wind makes the quilt look alive!

Complements finish!

Complements
79" x 80"

I have some new finishes to share.  This one was first posted about last fall (here) when I finished piecing the quilt top. Now, it is quilted, bound, and labeled! 

It took a long time to get to this point, especially because I had trouble deciding if it would be a two-sided quilt or not.  However, I happened upon this wonderful fabric, and that was it! Pefecto! And it is really soft!

Unfortunately, I did not realize that the fabric has a very stretchy weave to it.  It was really difficult to work with.  So I opted to hand baste this quilt. I am finding that I like hand basting more and more because it holds the layers together more accurately than pin basting.

I opted to do long close 1/4" quilting lines for the solid sections, and a back and forth straight line quilting for the tiny pieced section.  I didn't want the quilting lines to distract from the beautiful simplicity of the design, I just wanted them to enhance that quality.  I was also a little concerned that the quilting might warp the quilt out of shape a bit as I worked, but it really didn't.  I feel like I got extremely lucky!

It left a lot of threads to tuck for the solid sections, so I took it outside on a beautiful weather day, and got to work!

Here's another close up of the final quilt:

I love the way this quilt turned out.  The colors are intense but the quilting gives them a wonderful softness that is hard to convey in the photos.  I also love how much detail you can see in the tiny pieced fabrics, even though the sample size is really small.  Those kittens and bears are adorable! 

Last, you can't tell in the top view, but the quilt binding is a wonderful purple, which also surprised me. I auditioned many fabrics before picking this one, and is was so obvious when I saw it, that I just knew!!