Stabilization

 There is different advice about the best interfacing to use to stabilize the fabric from silk ties. The silk is flimsy and on the bias. Dave of Dave's Craft Room said he used the stabilizer that he used when sewing a t-shirt quilt. I don't exactly know what he used, but a ultralight weight knit interfacing is often recommended for t-shirt quilts. I used Pellon White Easy Knit Fusible EK130 for the top piece. And it is very light weight and slippery. It is a good weight in general, but was very slippery to sew.

The bottom interfacing is Pellon Featherweight Fusible (911FW). It is stiffer than what I wanted, but it is much easier to sew. I would not want to hand quilt it, and the hand of silk isn't really there anymore. But given that I will want to have some precision with seam intersections, this will be my choice for the project I am planning.

For the test I am trying flip triangle corners. The top row has the knit interfacing and the bottom has "featherweight" that we will call cardboard.

Using the knit interfacing is a bit like wrestling eels dipped in oil. And using the cardboard gives the satisfaction of origami.

I could get precision with both types of interfacing, but I think I will swear less using the heavier interfacing. To me, there is no question that some kind of interfacing is necessary, but the choice of which ultra lightweight will depend on preference and the type of quilt being made.

And although Molly would like to announce the winner of the chicken dinner now, we will make that announcement tomorrow. (Yes, it's still a fabric giveaway, I just had to sustain Molly's interest.)

Distractions

If you are wondering how a gap in posts happens, it starts with a day when you are out and about, and maybe there are some interesting events that steal a bit of your attention. Then because you are an age where days last about 16 minutes, you realize you have nothing to show for the day. 

To avoid having a gap, one might look way back in the file of photos to find a photo when Buddy was cute. An oddball angle might cover for the lack of content.

Next one promises oneself that tomorrow will be another day...and maybe not as pitiful. And yes, this is what I have to show for my day: 5 unmade ties. 

Buddy and Ties

 This morning I took a selfie with Buddy on my lap. Like all the cool influencers, he knew that the camera should be held up to capture a flattering view. Unfortunately, he didn't consider who was holding the camera. And yes, this photo is being put on the internet without his consent or understanding of what the internet is.

And I have to decline all the kind offers from those of you who would like me to send Buddy as part of the fabric giveaway. Unfortunately, I would have to unplug his heated bed to seal the envelope and at that point he might be motivated to move a muscle and destroy the package. 

I also didn't move many muscles today and found myself spending the day taking apart ties. I find it weirdly satisfying. And the construction of a tie seems odd to me...so loosely sewn it's as if they were designed for deconstruction.

And if you are wondering what started me down this path, here is the video that is to blame...from the YouTube channel Dave's Craft Room...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjS7O0LcDyo

Time for a Fabric Giveaway

 I will discuss the fabric giveaway at the end of this post, but first I want to clarify some of the vocabulary from yesterday's post. The photo above shows CATs. Condolences and congratulations if you don't have some of these lying around your sewing space (sleeping space and wherever they decide they want to go.) And yes, the vet told Buddy that he has to lose TWO pounds, but he was being fed a Churu snack at the time so I think he may have misunderstood the whole losing weight concept.

Here are some of the fabrics that I pulled to hang out with the Roots fabric line by e bond that I plan to turn into a GridLock quilt. I will have to find more lights and darks suitable for the grid part of the quilt. Right now I would say this quilt is at the POF stage where POF stands for Pile of Fabric. Many of my quilt projects stay at this stage until they become a TH (tripping hazard).

And now let's talk fabric giveaway...I'm in the middle of moving my flat folds from room to room and I thought it would be nice if we trimmed some of the fabric and it could live a happier life somewhere else as a scrap. Fat Quarter Shop has a scrap bag with cuts of 4 to 7 inches that run the width of the fabric (currently out of stock). I'm thinking of providing something similar except it will come in a USPS envelop (not a cute bag) and you can specify the color or type of cotton fabric you would like (generally), like color, batik, novelty, multi-color etc. And I promise no one will receive a silk tie.

If you would like to participate, you will have to live in the U.S. because, as I understand it, postal rates are still crazy. For a chance to win, leave a comment specifying what color/theme of fabric you would like. If you are anonymous, I will need you to include your email address so I can contact you to let you know you won and to get your mailing address. The comment collection phase will last through Oct. 4, 2023 11:59 pm, west coast time.  The random drawing will be conducted by Molly Kitten Emeritus, which ensures that the drawing will be corrupt, but entirely mysterious.

Patchwork Gridlock

Admittedly many quilters worry about starting too many quilts and focus on finishing WIPs, UFOs and CATs. They fear quilt gridlock without realizing that adding a new project to gridlock doesn't really change anything. In any case, this post is not about that...it's about starting a new quilt called Gridlock.

I have wanted to make this quilt after seeing the amazing quilt Wanda at Exuberant Color made using Marcia Derse fabric. You can see Wanda in the process of making it here: https://exuberantcolor.blogspot.com/2021/11/gridlock-blocks-27-and-28.html

You can see her finished quilt here: https://exuberantcolor.blogspot.com/2022/12/gridlock-finished.html

The original Gridlock quilt was made by Liza Prior Lucy for Kaffe Fassett and various versions are featured in three of his quilt books and in a knitting book.

For my version, I want to feature the quilt collection Root by e bond, adding some like-minded fabric from my stash.

And speaking of grids, the original quilt versions of Gridlock feature a 4 inch finished center with the final quilt block finishing at 12 inches. I am incapable of making a 12 inch block. I cannot work with a 4.5 inch square of fabric. But then, sometimes it is good to work outside of our comfort zones. So I am going to attempt to use a humongous center that finishes at 3 inches and blocks that finish at 9 inches. 

Where the Chips Fall

 According to tonight's calculation, I need 16 more chips to complete all four borders.

Happily, these partial units will give me twice as many as I need and therefore lots of choices. The next step will be to see how they look on the design wall. That way I can figure out the layout of the border...for example not having too many red chips next to a red seahorse.

I also had the fun taking apart some more silk ties. Some of the ties have tags that say Made by Hand. I will have to make new tags that say Disassembled by Hand.

Allotted Time

 This is how far I got making the seahorse border. According to my accounting, this should be enough to border the quilt. That said, it doesn't look like it will be enough, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to discover what mistake I made.

I was lucky Molly allowed me to use her chair for as long as she did. 

Meanwhile I would like to mention something that you may have noticed during "the gap" that I didn't. Comments to the blog made ten days after the post wait for moderation. I do not receive an email for those comments and see none of them unless I'm looking at the blog...which I didn't do during the gap. So I must admit to having a guilt-free gap, but am now feeling retrospective guilt. I started the moderation to keep out spam that gets attached to older posts. That, at least, did work.