PHOTO DAY

 Darrell just finished one of his projects and photographed it this morning.  Then I got out my quilt stand and hung Carpe Diem and he photographed it too.

His lighting is color temperature adjustable.  Its very interesting to change them and see what it does to the colors of the quilt.  But they do really show off the quilting.

DIAGONAL QUILTING

 Now that Carpe Diem is off my mind for the most part, I can get back to quilting the neglected Spider Legs quilt which is loaded diagonally on the longarm.

I've been ignoring it and doing other projects lately.  But, I got back to it today and made a little progress.  It's now past the half way mark.

CARPE DIEM FINISHED

 I got the facing made and sewn on and Carpe Diem is now a finished quilt.

This is finish number 13 for the year.

TESTING

 I wasn't sure which orange thread I used that caused the bleed on Carpe Diem.  So, I set up an experiment to find the culprit.

I took the four likely suspects and put some of their thread onto some white Kona, some light grey Kona and the Taupe/Grey Artisan Cotton that was used in the quilt.  I added water and waited.

And none of them bled.

So I added some of the variables.  I added some of the water soluble blue marker - and nothing.  I added a drop of machine oil thinking there might have been some on the needle when I basted the quilt - and nothing.  I rubbed some of the thread with my fingers thinking maybe it was the oil from my hands - and nothing.  I added hot water - and nothing.  

I am baffled as to why that thread ran.

MADE A BEAD SPIDER

 I made a spider with beads.

I'm going to dangle it somewhere.  Live long and prosper.

SYNTHROPOL TO THE RESCUE

 After much talk and advice received, I got my Synthropol and mixed a strong solution with water and began dobbing, blotting and rubbing at the orange bleed (caused by the Aurifil thread I used to baste this quilt).

It is hard to see if its working when the fabric gets wet, but it does appear to be.  I'll have to wait until it dries tomorrow to know how well it worked.

It took almost three hours to do the whole quilt.  I'm hopeful that I got it all.  By the end of that time, my hands were puckered and were beginning to cramp.  

TINY HEXAGONS

 I've started making a Needle Book from a pattern by Sue Spargo.

It involves making this tiny hexagon flower.  I made my own paper hexies to wrap the fabrics around.  I will sew them together tonight while watching TV.  

ORANGE BLEED ON QUILT

 I was very disappointed to see Carpe Diem when I got home.  It's been three days on the work wall drying from the water I sprayed on it to remove the blue marking lines.  The blue lines are mostly gone, but the orange bleed from the Aurifil thread is still visible on the quilt.

This is so heartbreaking for me.  I've put a lot of work into making this quilt and I'm very proud of it.  And to have an internationally popular thread brand bleed is very upsetting.  I don't think of thread color as ever bleeding.  I need to think about what to do because I can't submit it to a show looking like this.  I don't want to wash it.  The batting is 100% wool and will shrink and wouldn't look right for a show either. I need to consult with my quilt friends and think about this.