Tree of Life : Wall Quilt Completed

[Click on the tree to view a larger size.]

This quilt has been in the works for about 2-1/2 years now.   It wasn't difficult, though it looks putsy.  I just needed to put in the time--and take my time with it.   I am grateful for the sewing table my husband made for me a few years ago.  It makes free-motion quilting so much easier than it used to be.

Detail photos of the quilting ...  I used my new embroidery threads to quilt it.  It's a strong polyester with a nice sheen.  I don't have to worry about the threads breaking as I would with rayon.   And I have so many colors in the set that it's easy to find a match! 

 

 

Detail of the stitching on the tree trunk.   

The edges of the tree were top-stitched down to the background layer of the quilt top, along with a stabilizer.  Then I quilted the background through the quilt sandwich (batting and backing included).  This helped to make the tree pop out.  

Originally, I wasn't planning to quilt/stitch on the tree, but I had a doodle in my sketchbook that my mother happened to see.  She liked it and encouraged to transfer it to the Tree above.  
It worked out nicely!

 

Although I love Hobbs 80/20 batting for bed quilts, I find that it sags over time (gravity's effect on all of us!)  in wall hangings.  I know people like to recommend Warm'n Natural which was originally designed for window quilts / winter insulation, and does NOT sag.  Although I've used it, it just doesn't puff up and look like quilts.  They are too flat for my tastes.  I've started using old mattress pads (after the parts that wrap around your mattress pooch out and tear off).  The padded part makes a nice puffy batting for wall hangings, that doesn't sag.     These are also good for quilted pillows and pot holders.    It's a great way to recycle them, too.  They're good yet, even if they won't stay on your bed!

I haven't done up an official quilt label yet.  I don't have a great way to do it yet.  My printer doesn't do fabric, and writing with a fabric pen is functional, but doesn't look so nice.   At this point, I just have the info written on an old library catalog card (recycling again!) pinned to the back.  Someday, I'll do a batch of them at once. 

Thermofax Preparations

On Saturday, my friend Lynda and I are planning a day to play with Thermofax and screen printing. She inherited some kind of Thermofax and a thousand frames. We just need to do some experimenting to figure out how it works. In the meantime, I am developing suitable images for our play day.

Would you believe the feather above started out as the sun-printed feather below? I played with it in Picasa and Seashore to get the black and white image above. Although I would not be able to give you the recipe--I was not taking notes. Just playing!




This one is modified from one of my many tree bark pictures. I think the secret to this one was the Edges filter in Seashore. Or was it the Threshold filter?


This was a picture of a tree I took on a bike ride last yesterday evening.

Here's the only slightly modified original (and yes the sky really was pink and blue) :



I have about 65 images I've been playing with, trying to make them suitable for Thermofax. Stay tuned and see what we are able to accomplish on Saturday!