From the mundane to the sublime in one weekend…..

Like the cobbler's children who have no shoes, mending is very low priority on my list of sewing projects.  However, when it gets to the point that every double duvet cover has some sort of textile-related problem, it is time to act.  The only way to get through it  was to promise myself some more interesting textile time in the afternoon.

Duvet reclamation, apparently, this Ikea design was designed by Cath Kidston before she was "Cath Kidston".  It's the closest I'll currently get to any Cath Kidston and it hasn't worn very well.

Now a single duvet cover - female guests only as the boys refuse to have this on their beds, I guess the non-gender -based parenting has failed.  I love seeing the sewing machine whizz through the repeat button holes.

Like 95% of quilters, I have a load of unfinished projects.  This year( !) the aim is to finish at least half of them.  This one has languished for over 3 years and only needs 2 blocks to finish.  It  was supposedly an exercise in using a neutral top with curved piecing, but it morphed in to something else.  I wish I had room for a design wall!

Lime green sparkling in the sun.

and then of course, I decided that some of the existing blocks don't work as well as they could, and that I could make a more interesting back, rather than just use one piece of cloth.  

When does a pieced back become another quilt on the back? - when it takes all afternoon to plan and put together.  The paint squares fabric has been stored for over 15 years, and that is part of the finishing resolution.  If it has larger than 1metre, and has been there for over 10 years - use it, swap it or give it away.

And finally some real hand stitching, preparing a piece of American smocking for Morley on Tuesday.   There are several tutorials on the web, and I followed the instructions in the book by Colette Wolfe, " The Art of Manipulating Fabric".  I think my cloth is too sturdy as there are more folds in this piece than in a previous version I attempted.  I deliberately used dark thread in this as I need contrast for the experiment I hope to try on Tuesday.

Back

Front - there are two different patterns on here, lattice and lozenge, which is why it looks a bit irregular.

Hoping to get the quilt basted up tomorrow night at Richmond and Kew Quilters sewing evening.

 

Dual dramatic devore

Last week of term at Morley, so a dash to consolidate this term's learning ( as well as she a great group lunch outside in the garden).

Using my swirling screen, which I now think it too overpowering to use on its own, but which works when overlaid with a paper stencil of circles


I did some devore on a white silk / viscose satin ( this term has been more costly in terms of fabric required). I forgot my camera again, so did not photograph each stage of this process, but the steps were:

prepare paper stencil
apply devore paste to the silk / viscose satin through the screen
hot acid dye in the first colour ( burgundy, purply colour)
rinse thoroughly
dye again but this time in Procion MX blue/turquoise

As the fibres take the dye differently, the effect is this wonderful two-coloured piece.



After lunch a scramble to use up this term's print pastes. Setting up another open screen with masking tape to produce a grid along the lines of the devore on the velvet, I applied the pastes along the print well in blobs of two colours, to give these lovely ombre ( graded shades) effects.

First of all, aubergine and teal on top of an indigo, shibori dyed cotton


Then, the same shades on a piece of white cotton sateen


I have also managed to put needle to textile this week as well, with more success with the lattice smocking


Quite different end result with the cotton being much flatter than the synthetic printed textile.