This looks like a mess, but birthing is a messy process. Remember long, long ago on Eleanor Burns' "Quilt In a Day" TV series where she showed how to "birth" a quilt? Instead of the traditional method of putting the top and backing wrong sides together, quilting, and binding, she put the top and back RIGHT sides together and sewed around the edges, leaving a hole to turn the whole thing right side out. It was quick and dirty quilting, and I loved it.
This is the birthing hole (above) for "Spring Awakening," which I finished this afternoon with one day to spare before the entry deadline. Instead of leaving an opening along the seam for turning, I cut two intersecting slits in the backing and pulled the whole thing through that way. Before I cut the slits, I ironed Wonder Under to the inside. After turning, I fused it down and will cover it with a label. That's called the "Escape Hatch" method by some members of the Chicago School of Fusing. It means you don't have to hand sew the opening closed and the edge seam stays smoother.
I'd really like to show you the whole quilt, but I'm superstitious about showing work before I enter it into a show. So I'll just show you this bottom part, which I really like because I'm craving bright green right now. Our days have been really grey. This is how it looked outside this morning ...
... and this is how it looked this afternoon. The only thing that changed was the tide level. I get through by looking at bright fabric, eating a lot, and thinking about spring.
Have a colorful day
VERY clever, the fused opening! Bet that went much quicker than the traditional method. As for your grey weather, ugh! That's what I love about AZ... most days, we have wonderful blue skies unless it's really storming. And rarely do we get fog, but then we're not near a large body of water. I couldn't live in grey... it would depress the heck out of me! but your bright green is a great antidote... not the eating so much (lol!), but bright colors for sure!
ReplyDeleteLook forward to seeing the 'entire' quilt!
ReplyDeleteI have graduated from the Chicago School of Fusing via Laura's book. I have done the escape hatch and put the qult sleeve on the slit. Worked like a charm. Anxious to see your whole quit.
ReplyDeleteThis method works so great when you don't want to add a binding. I make a slit maybe 8 inches long where it will be covered by the sleeve and do the fusible like you to keep it shut.
ReplyDeleteThose are actually really interesting shots of the bay. I think it'd be a cool project to set your camera on a tripod and get a bunch of shots throughout the day to create some sort of tidal time lapse.
ReplyDeleteHAH - knew you'd finish this in time! Can't wait to see the entire thing...
ReplyDeleteI have seen this method before but the "escape hatch" portion was new to me and definitely makes sense.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing!
Fabulous idea and so quick... love it. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletehugs