WEEK 17 IMPROV BLOCK

Here is week 17's block of the Quilters Playcation 2024 with Cheryl Arkison.  It was all about inserting strips.  I started mine out with a piece I had sewn together of leftovers from a previous block.

She also talked about several methods to insert strips, I learned two new methods, both of which are very good.

 

ALL THE STRAIGHT LINES DONE

 I decided to do all of the straight line 1" spaced vertical lines on the Coordinates quilt.  Once I get those done then I will roll it back and fill in the colored squares with their own color of thread and different designs.

So, I finally got all of the straight line quilting done on the background.  Now begins the tying off and burying of all of those threads!

4-PATCH IMPROV

 I joined Quiltfolk's BOM for 2024 - Break the Rules!  This month they discussed a 4-Patch quilt that is featured on the cover and inside Roderick Kiracofe's book, Unconventional and Unexpectedd: American Quilts Below the Radar, 1950-2000.

I wanted to make a replica of that quilt.  I looked through my stash and came up with these Essex Linens, a canvas print and a few others.  

Here is the original:

And here is my interpretation, it is about 46" by 64":

COLOR REMOVER

I recently bought some fabric online.  I was a bit disappointed when it arrived - it was darker than I had wanted.  It was suggested by a friend that I try using Rit Color Remover to tone it down.  That sounded like a great idea.  Here's what happened.

The directions and reviews were adamant about doing this process outside because of the fumes.  So I took my hot plate and big dyeing pot outside and got some hot water started.  The water needed to be above 200*.  It was suggested to bring it to boiling.  I waited and waited and waited.  I finally got out my food thermometer - it was 160*.  It never got any hotter than that.  After waiting for over an hour, I gave up and boiled the water in the house and then took it outside to the hot plate and stirred in the solution.  That was going to be as good as it was going to get.

The instant I put the blue fabric into the solution it turned a dark yellow brown.  Oh my - not what I was expecting!  I left it in the solution for the required 20 minutes, hoping it might revert to the light blue I was wanting.  Ha!  That didn't happen.

After I took that fabric out, I dipped, very quickly, a plum colored fabric in, hoping it would turn a shade or two lighter.  Boom, it turned yellow too! A beige yellow.  But, the yellow fabric I dipped next did turn a lighter yellow.

Experiment Fail:

That yellow and white fabric will not worked for what I wanted it for, so it will end up in the pile set aside to use as backings.

BLUE COLOR BOX

I just received this month's Color Box of Artisan Cottons by Windham, sent to me by Quilted Strait quilt shop.  These are all shot cottons.

PLAYCATION WEEK 16

 It's Tuesday at 1pm!  Time for Cheryl Arkison and her Quilter's Playcation 2024.

Here is this week's improv block.  

ROLLED IT FORWARD

 I finally got that first section of the quilting on my Coordinates quilt done and was able to roll it forward to the next section.

Of course there was a bit of fussing to do to get the top lined up to continue the parallel quilting lines.