The Sugar Plum / Plum Pudding Quilt is Complete

At long last, The Sugar Plum / Plum Pudding quilt is finished!  

I love the colors -- It reminds me of the week between Christmas and New Years, leftover plum pudding.  The shine and glitter of the holidays has gone, and your left with the darker grays and bruise-y plums after the celebrations are done.

 It always reminded me of Harry Potter left at Hogworts over the holidays.

I must have run out of the 4-patch blocks, because there is a gray place holder towards the bottom.  Do you see it now?  That solution works with this pattern.

Pattern: Fuzzy Logic from Brenda Hennings Strip Therapy book

Fabric: Snow Berry Island Batik jelly roll

Dream Wool Batting

Quilted in a 2-inch grid that takes about 5 hours to complete, and 4-5 bobbins 

 

Detail of the diagonal grid quilting and the Snow Berry batiks.

Here are some previous posts about this quilt in progress:

Quilt Sandwiches

Sugar Plum Quilt Top is Complete!

Plans for The Snow Berry Quilt or Plum Dumplings over Winter Break

 

Karla's Quilt - Autumn Copper Canyon

 

I gave a quilt to my dear friend, Karla.  2023 was a heck-uv-a year for her, but things are looking up ...

Doesn't she look pleased!

The Autumn Copper Canyon colors suite her. ;-)   And she appreciates the wool batting.

This is my go-to pattern these days, made with jelly roll strips.  The patches look like stained glass windows of light.  The pattern is similar to Phoebe's Flower Box Quilting Tutorial.

Autumn Copper Canyon Batik Quilt is Complete

Happy Holidays

 Happy Holidays!

Water is Essential: Don't Skip the Wet-Finishing

Left side AFTER wet finishing / Right side NOT wet finished.

The right side is fuzzy and thicker -- like a blanket.  

The right side is crisp and tight -- like a towel.  The American Maid warp and tabby cotton has a beeswax finish on it that makes it easier to work with while weaving.  I think the blue wool also has some kind of "temperance" treatment on it -- some kind of stabilizer.  That yarn may have been designed for knitting machines.  Once you do the wet finishing, that stabilizer washes out and the yarn it allowed to be itself.

While I had some of the pieces off the loom, I was curious to see how wet finishing changed the fabric.  It always kind of amazing to see how the newly woven fabric comes alive and blooms once the fibers come together as a cohesive team.  

What is wet finishing?  Basically, you wash your newly woven fabric. Because it's wool, I'll be more gentle than I would with normal cottons, because I don't want it to felt up.

I wanted to get an idea of how the Mountain Cucumber would finish ...  

  

Summer side: Left side AFTER wet finishing / Right side NOT wet finished.

The difference is AMAZING when you can see it in person, though I'm not sure I did such a great job with the photos.

Of course all that uplift has to pull from somewhere, so the width decreases as as the wet finishing creates new textures and loft.

Here are the numbers:

• 25 inches wide = Width of warp on the loom through the reed
• 24 inches = Woven on the loom under tension with the stretcher
• 23 inches = Off the loom, no tension'
• 21 inches = After wet finishing

Now to finish winding on the warp for the last panel ...

Just Like Starting Over ...

Abbreviated Panel 4 of The Mountain Cucumber Coverlet

I was working on the forth and final panel of the Mountain Cucumber Coverlet ...  At the 4th of 7 blocks, I ran out of warp.  At the beginning of this project, I'd warped up 14-1/2 yards thinking that would be more than enough for 4 105-inch panels, along with loom waste with extra room for testing, and learning the pattern.  Turns out, I was about 1-1/2 yards short of what I needed for the 4 complete panels.  [Let that be a lesson: Whatever you calculate the warp to be for a coverlet, add another 2 yards to the final calculation!]

My calculations were a bit off.  I calculated a 12-inch block on the worksheet, and what I wove consistently turned out to be a 15-inch block, but I never went back and re-did the numbers, or I would have known sooner that I'd come up short.  Sigh!  To be fair, I did switch to a smaller tabby yarn that was half the size of the warp threads, and much less than the pattern threads.  

I weighed the options:

* Weave as far as I could on panel 4.  It will make a nice runner, or something ...  And it is!  I hung it in the Loom Room where I can see those lovely intertwining vines (aka worms)-- See the photo at the top of this post.

* Be happy with a 3 panel coverlet.  This might work, but things will shrink again when I wet-finish it, and then it will still be too narrow for my full-size bed.

* Cut the short panel off, but leave enough warp to act as a "dummy" warp to tie on and pull through a new warp to finish the job properly.

I am opting for the last option.  So I'll be running a new 5-yard warp this week to finish the job.  Technically, I shouldn't need quite that much, but I don't want to be caught short again ...   The photo above shows 204 ends of a 5-yard warp of 10/2 American Maid Cotton.  I was able to run it much less time than the longer warp for the whole project.  Let me say it again: This warping mill is such a joy to use: It was a complete game changer.  I don't think I'd still be weaving if I had to use a traditional warping board -- Too many frustrations, and too many body aches and pains with that old method.

1 panel is about 108 inches, plus 1 yard for loom waste  plus some for the take-up (the ups-and-downs of weaving).

Kari Fell - Tying onto a Previous Warp

I recently saw Kathryn at Blazing Shuttles demonstrate how to tie on a dummy warp.  The last time I did it with the official weaver's knot, painstakingly tied one-by-one, most of them pulled part when I pulled them through the heddles.  But Kathryn says you can use any knot -- so I'm going to use the easiest and sturdiest one I know: overhand -- and it will still be small enough to pull through the heddles without falling apart. 

Tying onto the previous warp.  

See: It's not the end of the world.  In weaving, you can usually find a solution.

I know it looks like a tangled mess, but it's all in order, and should wind on nice and cleanly.

This option let's me continue the sheer joy of weaving this pattern every week through the holidays, and if the dummy warp works like it should, I won't have to re-thread the reed or heddles again.  It'll be just like starting over ...  ;-)

Turkey Red Americana Star Coverlet

 

I was intrigued by this coverlet.  I have not seen any others quite like this one.  It looks like it could be a quilt by the design, though it's clearly woven.  Although parts are in rough shape, I still bought it.  Another one I wanted to study up close and personal. 

Here's the flip side, where the white is more prominent.  

This side shows some wear, but it's still so pleasing! 

 

Here's a detail of the front and back (opposite) sides for comparison.

 

 

It has an interesting texture, too.  I have not seen this texture in the overshot coverlets. 

 

 

Turkey Red refers to the color.  In olden times, Turkey (the country, not the bird) made a particular red dye that was known as Turkey Red.  

Here it is currently on display in the Loom Room, with some other lovelies.
 

Nordic Star Table Runner

 

Nordic Star Table Runner  - Free Pattern from The Crafty Quilter 

The Nordic Star Table Runner is complete!  I started this at Quilt Camp back in October, and finished it this week--just in time for the Holidays!

Nordic Star Table Runner  - Free Pattern from The Crafty Quilter 

The pattern is actually quite simple.  The stars and points are all half-square triangles.

It's quilted with the walking foot - straight lines -- The last thing I did before the walking foot fell off my machine.  It looks like the threads in the screw hole that attaches all the feet to the machine got stripped.   I took it into the shop for a few small repairs at All Sew.  There's a guy here in Oshkosh who used to service the sewing machines for Oshkosh B'Gosh years ago, so he knows his way around sewing machines.   I'm happy to not have to take it up to Appleton, and then wait 4 months to get it back.  Hopefully, he will be able to fix it.

Stars in My Eyes: Cathedral Windows Wall Quilt Complete

It's finished! 

The beauty of a true scrap quilt like this is that I can look at any of the colored patches and tell you exactly what other project I used that bit of fabric in.  So many memories from a quilted life!  I am pleased-as-punch with the way this turned out!

This is as big as I can comfortably do on my little domestic sewing machine.  The last row of colored patches was the hardest to sew because of the bulk.   That said, once I finished sewing the bias edges on the last block, it was done!  No layering - no binding!  It's done (except for labels and hanging pocket, of course).

I love how the white part looks puckered and "used" as if it's a much older quilt.  Antiqued!

I love the quilted patterning on the back.  Not perfect, but still pleasing.

Here are some tips if you're going to make on of your own:

• After satin stitching the background blocks together, lay out the pieces and audition 2-1/2 inch squares (the colored patches) on the design wall.  When I was happy with the arrangements, I used a safety pin to hold the colored bits in place.  This was "safer" than using straight pins--literally less blood shed.  There is so much twisting and turning to sew down those colored patches that the safety pins made sense! 

• Use a stilletto to hold down the bias edges to get them started under the sewing needle.  Once you get started, those bias edges are easy to manage under the needle.
  

• When it got to be a certain size, it was easier to stitch 2 sides of the colored patches down an entire row, then come back up the other side as a row.  Less twisting and turning that way.

 

If you look at the stars from the side, you can see the puff better.  

What a difference just a teaspoon of stuffing makes! 

• I kept a 1-gallon freezer bag of fluff stuffing nearby for stuffing the blocks.  This was a manageable amount to deal with--esp. since I was only using about a teaspoon of fluff per block.  More than that got too puffy and unmanageable -- In other words, it got too puffy and took up too much space in my work area.   I wound up using an acrylic fluff because it was lighter and fluffier than batting scraps.  It did the job better.
  

It doesn't really feel like it made a dent in my scrap pile, but I know I used about half of the 2-1/2 squares I cut out for this project.  So I guess that's progress.  It used a lot more white background fabric than you'd expect.  It's also heavier and denser than you'd expect.

120 # of white background squares (These started out as 9-1/2 inch squares; Finished at just over 4 inches.

218 # of Stars (colored patches - These are the 2-1/2 in squares.) 

 

I like this one because it shows my husband's feet at the bottom of the screen.

The photos show a very slight difference in the white background fabric.  I used what I had on hand -- Some Avalon muslin purchased for hand-dying -- I bought it without realizing it had a permanent press treatment, which makes it NOT suitable for dying. (I knew about that, but the online listing and description did not mention permanent press. ;-( )   In the photos, it looks like some of the background whites is a little creamier than the other.  This is not nearly so noticeable in person.

Here are the previous posts about this project:

Cathedral Windows Quilt - A New Project and a New Tutorial  (Jan 23, 2023)

Cathedral Windows Revisited (Feb 7, 2023)

Progress on The Cathedral Windows Quilt: 14 Blocks So Far (May 21, 2023)

 

The High Class Low Maintenance Throw: First Project off the Big Loom

This was the getting-to-know-the-new 8-shaft loom project, aka The Big Loom.  Although I only used 4 shafts, it was more than enough for me to get the feel of this new loom.   

Everything went better than I could have hoped!  In fact, I am thrilled with how this came out! 

 

 

Here's a photo of my friend, Janna, trying her hand at weaving for the very first time.

 

This is as far as I could go and still gt a good shed. 

 

This is the view from the back, before I untied the warp strings and pulled the piece off the loom.

This is the first time I did a hem stitch where it seems to have turned out well. 

I trimmed the strings to a uniform 7 inches on this side, and 6-1/2 inches on the front end.  I twisted the fringe by hand over the course of a few nights.  12 twists clockwise, and 6 counter-clockwise.

The kit was from Yarn Barn of Kansas: The High Class Low Maintenance Throw.  I purchased this kit a few years ago, but my old loom was not quite wide enough to do it justice, so it waited until I had a wider loom.  

The yarn is acrylic -- I wasn't too crazy about using acrylic because it stretches.  And so far I've been using all natural fibers (cotton, wool, silk).  But I found out this yarn was very forgiving and easier to work with than some of the other fibers.  Not a single broken string on this project.  It was only a 3 yard warp.  Since the reed was a bit rusty, I also wanted some inexpensive yarn to floss all those "teeth" without worrying about staining the project with rust.

Here are the previous posts about this project:

Getting ready to weave again ... (Sept 9, 2023)

What to do with Rusty Reeds (Sept 8, 2023)

Red Barn and a Coverlet in Northern Michigan

 

Red Barn in Northern Michigan, October 2023. [Waterlogued]

I took a short vacation last week to Traverse City, Michigan, spending time with my oldest friend.   We took a horse-drawn wagon ride through the woods in full autumn splendor.  There were some classic red barns along the way ...

 

Red Barn in Northern Michigan, October 2023. [Waterlogued]  

 

Here are the horses at Fantail Farm in  Benzonia, MI.

Janna is wearing the blue alpaca scarf I made for her a few years ago on the Triangle Loom.

Autumn was in full bloom while we were there!

We also did some beach combing in search of Petoskey stones, which Michigan is known for.  

These stones are millions of years old, made from coral.  We found a few, but will need to spend some time polishing them up to show their full beauty.

 

We also stopped at a historic lighthouse that had been run by a woman, Sarah Lane.  

There was a cabin on the property ...  I was delighted to see this coverlet on display! 

 

Back at my house, Janna got to do some weaving on The Mary Meigs Loom. 

 

Old Friends Together Again!   

We are old enough now to wear cool hats, too!

Weaving the Vines on The Mountain Cucumber Coverlet Video

 

Weaving the Cucumber Vines (aka Worms) on The Mountain Cucumber Coverlet Video [17 min.]

 

I wanted to do a little video of weaving the "worms" (aka cucumber vines) section of the Mountain Cucumber Coverlet, so you could see the pattern emerge in the cloth with every shot of the shuttle.  Every weaving project has it's own requirements and it can be a useful to have a recording like this.

This particular pattern is overshot, meaning every shot of the blue wool pattern weft is followed by a shot of cream cotton in plain weave to hold it all together.  I use the beads to tell me what foot pedals (treadles) to push for the blue pattern threads.  The white tabby always follows the pattern thread and in the pedal farthest to that respective side, so I don't need beads for that -- In case you may be wondering why I move the beads only every other shot.

I am beating each shot twice.  Once with an open shed, and again with a closed shed.  As I said -- every project has different requirements, and that is what this one calls for.

The video also gives an idea of how I use the treadle beads, even if you can't see my feet moving underneath.   Each bead tells me what treadle to push for each shot in the sequence.  Once I through that shot, I push the bead to the left and move onto the next one in sequence -- although this project had so many treadle changes, I did not bother to list the tabby shots -- Those are givens.  They always follow behind the pattern shot, so I know which treadle to push.   For me, the treadle beads were a game-changer as far as keeping track of treadle changes.  I rarely make a mistake on that now!  

Eureka! It's Working: Weaving the Red and Black Circle Scarf on the Loom

• This video explains how to "program" the beads.

New Video Demonstrating the Bead System for Tracking Pattern Treadles on the Floor Loom

 

Some might think this is a boring video of someone weaving, but there's a place for things like this -- the regular sounds can act like white noise and be quite comforting -- as it is when I'm in the groove weaving.  If you don't have the patience for it, feel free to skip ahead and see the pattern that emerges at the end of the sequence.

Enjoy!

 

For the record, we had to make a gibbet for my iphone to take the video from overhead.  This is it! Nothing fancy, but servicable.

Missives from Quilt Camp October 2023

 

Nordic Star Table Runner from The Crafty Quilter [Free Pattern]

I think the fabric is all from my mom's stash.
 

Another year of Laura's Quilt Camp at Lake Lucerne in Neshkoro, WI.  We've been going there for 15 years now! 

 

My first project was to finish the 6 additional blocks for the Cathedral Windows Quilt.  Now I can start putting the blocks together for a wall hanging. 

 

This looked familiar to several ladies there ...  I found the blocks in my mom's sewing room.  It was a block-of-the-month project from The Cutting Edge Quilt Shop in Antigo, WI. It must have been a class to help her get familiar with one of her new sewing machines.  

I thought she might have even used the embroidery machine to do the quilting around the flowers?  But no -- it looks like she got to use multiple stitches and feet in the making of these blocks.  

She also quilted all the backgrounds BEFORE she did the applique flowers.  Each block had a Warm n Natural backing that also doubled as stabilizer.

All I had to do was lay the blocks out, add the sashing and borders.  I'll need to finish it some day ...

 

 

And finally, the mindless sewing of the weekend was to make hourglass blocks.  These will be alternate blocks for the scrappy crumb blocks.  I love how they will create a secondary pattern in this quilt when it's all done ...  These blocks are all 5-inch squares.  So that means I started with 6-inch squares to make the hour glass blocks. 

Of course it was lovely to see the ladies again, too, even though it was a smaller group this year.

My table mate was Laura Ramseier, as usual.  This year, our table was over by the lake and the windows.  There was so much more light in that spot, that I never needed to pull out my Ott light!  What a revelation!

My cabin mate was Pat Saft.  We got along very well, as expected.  Although she did NOT tell any ghost stories this year. ;-)  I love going to Guild Meetings and talking with these older ladies who still are of sound mind and body into their 80s.  

Sheila, Laura, Michele

And Sheila at the next table over.  

And Shirley a few tables down the line ...

And the Charmers at the other end of the hall.

 

Here's the whole group this year.  About 20 ladies. 

The food was good this year, too -- more befitting for the average age of the Quilters present, rather than meals better suited for much younger campers with speedy metabolisms.   And there was a lot of food!  But the snack tables were blessedly sparse this year.

Several people brought their Singer Featherweights.  If I had known, I might have brought mine along as well.  All the projects I worked on were straight stitching anyway, so it would have been fine.  Singers do straight stitching very well!

Bonus:  I came home with an antique quilt frame.  The lumberjack was there this weekend cutting fallen trees out of the woods at Lake Lucerne.  At lunch he asked if anyone would be interested in an old quilt frame.  "It's free, and comes with a stand," he said.   He offered this same set last year, too, but no one took him up on it.  He said it would wind up on the burn pile this year if no one claimed it.  So I finally said yes -- all the while wondering how I would get it into my car.  The rails are 105 inches long.  It fit ...  but now what do I do with it?  I guess -- The next time I want to tie a quilt, I can take it to an Open Sew Day and set it up in the middle.  Someone there will know how to set it up.   I don't really have the space to do it at home -- unless I fold up the big loom for a while?

Still can't picture what a Quilt Frame is?  Here's a selection of photos from Flicker showing other frames in use.   This post explains how to use an old quilt frame.  There's a tag on it, but more than half of it has been scratched away, or I would try to look up this particular brand.  I hope all the pieces are there.

I remember when I was a kid, my mom had the quilt rails (no legs) and the women of the family would set them up on dining room chairs, and then set about tying quilts the old-fashioned way.  I have no idea whatever became of those rails, though ...

 

Although there was a little fall color on the drive out there and back, not a lot of fall color out there yet.  The trees across the lake were mostly still green.

This is the view out our closest windows this year.