Saturday, January 16, 2016

Moving along on blue abstract quilt

My next big decision on this abstract blue quilt was to determine how to do the black applique overlays.



 In case you are a new follower or forgot this is my sketch for the quilt











I debated about fusing and even tried that out in a small sample and found that the black kona cotton really frayed a lot when the edges were stitched with invisible thread. I used steam a seam 2 lite. The only reason I thought this might work is that I had considered stitching with King Tut thread over the entire quilt with closely spaced vertical lines. Not sure that is how I want to quilt it now.

At any rate this does not work at all.




That means that I have to turn under the edges of the black Kona cotton. So I started to do that and have made some progress. This is my design wall this morning. It is dark and gloomy today in central PA so the lighting is not great. The pieces I dread are the ones with the sharp points. I think the only way I can pull them off is with needle turn applique. And I am not a big fan of needle turn applique so I will only do it for the sharp points.



My method of doing the rest of the applique pieces was shown in this blog. It was something I came up with when I made my cathedral quilt called "Spiritual Sanctuary."


Now I have to head out to the local quilt store and get some more Mary Ellen spray starch since I am nearly out.











Thanks for reading and for your input on my last blog. It is appreciated.

Chris



2 comments:

  1. Oh Chris -- I haven't been paying close attention -- Kona is not the best choice for any type of appliqué for exactly the reason you've found out. It is a wonderful fabric for piecing. But a softer fabric would have been so much easier for you. The design is coming along quite nicely. Be persistent. Hum, I wonder if Fray Check might help after the appliqué is done to keep the points from fraying except if you try that do it on a sample first as I'm afraid it might get really stiff. I don't use it often but every once in a while it works. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No words of wisdom on the applique, but I like the look!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting on my blog. I am always thrilled when someone takes the time to comment.