This Old Quilt

At last it's done!  Yeah!  There's still some work to be done, we've gotta find a way to get the pre stamped lines off the quilt.  I've tried oxiclean, q-tip with bleach, white vinegar and peroxide, and synthropol on a q-tip...none of these worked, so it sits now in a plastic garbage bag, still wet.  Today I'm going to town to see what other harmful chemicals I can try...LOL  If I remember correctly RIT makes a color stripper. Gonna put that on a q-tip and see what happens, maybe some Retayne?  I think that's the name of it...they sell it in quilt shops along with the synthropol.  Well here she is with all her ugly factory  markings.  Momma started these squares back in the late 70's early 80's, they've been finished for years, all they needed was for the blocks to be sewn together and quilted.  I've had them in my possession for over a year.  My first intentions were to hand quilt...well the road to hell was paved with good intentions.

 Even though momma gave me the freedom to quilt as desired, I chose to stay fairly simple, letting the quilt still have the fluffy feel that most older quilters like.  

We decided that 100% poly was best, because again older people seem to like it, and momma didn't like the price of wool.  However I splurged and used 100 wt. invisafil white thread.  You should have seen her face when I told her what a cone of that cost...non quilters have no idea!

 Even if I can't get out those factory markings she could turn it over and enjoy the back.  I'm a sucker for the back...Baby got Back!

Momma won't get to see it for a few more days, hopefully without the ugly factory paint.

Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"

Lea

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Pick Tip

 This doesn't happen to me very often but when it does it's nice to have a 
                                          Soft Touch Thread Pick handy.

 If you don't have one of these I highly recommend getting one, its one of my least used tools, but well worth the $8 when needed.

 I try to keep the hook turned up when I put it in and pull it out.  Sometimes it takes more than one try to get a hold of that little thread.

Once its out just a tiny bit I grab it with my fingers.

TADA!

Sometimes with the 100% cotton batting it needs a little trim, because its almost impossible not to get a hold of the batting.

Give the area a little rub with my finger and you never know it was even there!

Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"

Lea

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It's in the mail!

Deadlines that you set for yourself can be missed.  I was close but it didn't get mailed out till yesterday.  My plan was for Friday..well shucks.  So here its is finished.  Sorry for the blurry pictures I was in a hurry.

The birdies were traced from an image of birds I found on the Internet.   The corner motifs were also a tracing I found on the net.  Gotta  love pictures on the net ... so inspiring.

I think my sister in law is gonna love it.  The colors were chosen because of the information that I found after doing a little research, it said these colors were best for breast cancer color therapy.  Did you know that pink was chosen as the signature color for breast cancer for its healing effect on the skin?  I didn't till a week ago.  My assumption was that it was "titty pink"...LOL   Green sooths the soul and heals almost anything and the purple is to help blood flow, which is good for the healing of the skin.  I also made some homemade rosemary candles and sent those along with the quilt.  An Aroma therapy website suggested the scent.  So there you have it my sister in law has stage 2 breast cancer, she had her lumpectomy last week, and will start chemo with in the next few weeks.  They put in her port when they removed the lump.  And now you also know that I'm a naturalist and believe in more than just modern medicine.  I personally have witnessed two cases of breast cancer cured through alternative treatments and prayer.  No I'm not crazy, I just believe that it can't hurt to add to what the docs are doing.  Even if she doesn't believe my witchy crazy ways , she still love it!  

Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"

Lea

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I'm not backsliding

Really I'm not!  There's exception to every rule.  So I can start a new quilt if NEEDED, and this one is NEEDED.  Sometimes you need a quick quilt so whats quicker than a simple charm quilt.  I dug through my stash and came up with my own charm pack.  Okay so they may not match exactly but they'll pass.   Adding just a touch of applique will make even the simplest of quilts  more attractive.  Wish I could tell you why I started this quilt but I can't just yet.  Researching colors and how they effect people is what decided the colors in this quilt.  Looks like a Easter quilt, but its not.   Hope to have it pieced and quilted by tomorrow night.  Wish me luck!

 Since it needed to be quick the applique is invisible machine applique.  Quick?  Well it's quicker.  No its not fused.  They were freezer paper turned, stitched to quilt square with monofiliment thread.  The invisible stitch is hard to do because its such a tiny bite of a blanket stitch. (you can find my technique here, good instructions, a few pages long) Reading glasses and stitching v-e-r-y
 s-l-o-w was still much quicker than hand applique.   Hope to see you Friday morning with the finished product and the story behind the quilt.  And pictures of mommas quilt( that still needs the borders quilted!)  Its Crunch time!

Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"
Lea Pin It