Easter Bunny progress and musings

I've made a little progress on this Bunny quilt.  It's fun to make the swirls on the bunny fur.  This is coming along great.

I think this little basket would make a great block all on it's own.  Can't you see a whole quilt with just this cute little basket?

I've been thinking a lot about a post I read on Lisa Bongean's blog.  It's the post about Vegas Market and how she is thinking of new ideas for her quilting store (Primitive Gatherings).  Possibly adding home decor or making a a retreat etc.

She was saying sales were down and that she is lucky to go to 10 shows a year (as a vendor) where she used to be able to go to 25 a year.

At first it saddened me to think that this craft I love is not as popular as it used to be.  But, the more I got to think about it I realized that there are still lots and lots of quilters out there who love to create and share.  The problem is that most of us don't go to a quilt shop to find a project anymore.  We have numerous projects in our stashes that we still want to make.

I know my latest project, the wheel of fortune quilt, was made from fabric I already had in my stash. There has been so much wonderful fabric and rulers and kits and on and on that I previously bought and I still like them.  I only have so much money to spend and I only have so much space to store what I bought.

I am truly sorry that quilt stores are going out of business because of lack of sales.  But, I'm not any less zealous about making the very item I bought all that stuff for - QUILTS.  I don't think there is less enthusiasm for quilting, there is just less inclination for buying.

I can understand why Lisa is trying to figure out a way to encourage quilters to come to her shop.  And, she has a fabulous shop BTW.  I've been to the one in Menasha Wisconsin twice.

I'm still just as "in" to quilting as I ever was.
Robin

It didn't bleed on to any of the light fabrics!

This feels like it has become a saga. . .

 I finished quilting the little quilt, from previous posts, that was rubbing red dye on the thicker seams while in storage.  I had all kinds of nightmares of getting a pink quilt out of the washer but it had to be done.

I used Dawn dish detergent and cold water.  It had a short soak and then a gentle cycle with 3 color catchers.  The quilt came out of the washer better than it went in.  The color catchers had absorbed some dye but not as much as I expected.

Success!

It is not a very big quilt.  I put it on the kitchen table to see how it would look.  Of course, I wouldn't eat on it.

 But, it's not staying here anyway now that I know it isn't stained.  Whew!  I'm glad this dilemma is over.  It was exhausting worrying about the outcome.

I've got a new quilt in the hoop so I'm on to the next project.  There are too many tops in the queue to dilly dally around - ha!

Robin

Red dye rubbing on other fabric

I have received some really interesting and informative comments to my last post about the color rubbing off from the red sashing to the lighter background pieces.

One was from MJ in Michigan (no blog).  She states;

Maybe the problem wasn't fabric bleeding. It could Be from crocking where the color from heavily dyed fabric rubs off onto other fabric. The thick areas could have pressed into the dark sashing fabric causing the color transfer. It may wash out if you use color catchers.

I had never heard of crocking before so I looked it up.  The example that was given in the meaning was like when you have a new pair of jeans and the blue dye rubs off on to your shirt or socks.  I think that has happened to everyone - hasn't it?

I think that's exactly what has happened here.


I got another comment from Janet of Roguequilter and she states:

As far as the red goes, I could be wrong, but I think that red fabric is one of the early Judie Rothermel prints that was carried by Jo~Ann, even though it is a Marcus Brother fabric. I was just handling some of it the other day, and it isn't the same quality as Judie Rothermel fabrics of today. Interesting that it would transfer color in storage but not bleed when wet.

That's what I have. . . .  9 yds. of a lighter weight fabric with Judie Rothermel Marcus Bros. Textiles on the very narrow selvage.  Judie Rothermel fabric today is wonderful but evidently this fabric from years ago wasn't the same quality.

Thanks so much to both of you for helping me solve this conundrum.

Robin

Quilt talk

I finally found a piece of fabric that I had enough of to make the third border.  It is the same piece that I used for the background in the center.  I looked good, I was ready to be done, and I hung it in the closet to age.

But, as quilts do, it kept calling to me and telling me that calling it finished was a cop out!

That is; trying to avoid doing something that one ought to do.

synonyms:

avoid, shirk, skip, dodge, sidestep, skirt round, bypass, steer clear of, evade, escape, run away from, shrink from, slide out of, back out of, pull out of, turn one's back on; So, I ignored it as long as I could. . . and finally got it out to see what I could do to improve the situation.

The color of the background fabric is truer in the picture below.

I decided to do Broiderie Perse all the way around the border.  I cut out the motifs from the fabric that I had used in the outside of the center around the wheels.  (see first picture)

I've only appliqued two of them so far and I like the way it looks.  But, it's not something that I can do very fast so this sweet little quilt's finale has been postponed.  The cop out turned into applique, isn't that what always seems to happen?

The quilt that is on the frames has a problem I haven't run across before.  I have had fabrics bleed when I washed them but never have they bled during storage.  Can you see the pink tinge on the corners above and below.  It's on the pieces that have a thick seam beneath so they stick up a little.

 

I think it is from the sashing fabric but I don't really know if that's the culprit.  The interesting thing is that I've marked it with a water soluble marker and when I spritz it with water to remove the marking. . . it hasn't bled at all.

I'm almost finished with the big stitch quilting and then it will get a long soak and a thorough washing.

Curiouser and curiouser ~

Robin

Aunt Mollie's quilt

 I just wrote a post about my great great Aunt Mollie and her quilts.  It is on my other blog

 click on     Every Quilt Has a Story

If you don't want to read her history then just scroll down so you can see her quilts.

It was amazing what she could do with a needle and thread.

Robin

Can't decide and SNOW DAY

The piece of fabric from this line "Meadow" by Blackbird Designs that really caught my attention is pictured below.  It's a beautiful slate blue with pink, mauve, and red blossoms.  So naturally I bought enough for a border.  That's what I usually do.  Then I buy a few more pieces from the line and make a plan.

My plan finally came to fruition last month when I decided to make a Wheel of Fortune quilt.

My decisions included what to use for the fans and centers which included the Meadow fabric and my Blackbird Designs scraps from Madeira and Chesea's Boutique.

I auditioned the pretty blue fabric for the background but it was too dark.  I got out a big piece of red Madeira fabric below and it wasn't right either.

I ended up using a creamy beige by Benartex on the inside and a beautiful light piece from the Meadow line on the outside.  I used the blue fabric as the cornerstones for the red sashing strips.

I tried to use the blue as the border but it was just all wrong.  This green piece of Chelsea's Boutique (with brown cross stitch on it)  worked out the best.

Then I added a narrow red border thinking I would add a wider blue border next.

But I again was hesitant about putting that blue border on.  The picture above just has the piece of fabric placed closely to the red strip, it's not sewn.  It just feels like the blue floral demands too much attention and detracts from the lovely center blocks.

I have 2 yds. of the toile from the Meadow line too and so I auditioned it for a possible border.
I'm not sold on that idea either.

I guess I'm going to have to let this quilt top age a little before the border decision is made.  Into the closet (the Big Top) it goes.  I was really hoping to finish it today - drat!

I'd love to hear anyone's opinion because I'm definitely in a quandary.

We are in the process of a delightful snowstorm.  I can say it's delightful because I don't have to go out in it.

Taken before sunrise

We have received over 10 inches so far.

It is a result of Lake effect

Here is my husband attempting to get our driveway clear.  He's trying to be so careful because he's still healing from breaking his rib.  He went to the doctor for a check up yesterday and they took another X-ray to see how he is healing.  It turns out he broke 3 ribs not just one!  He's healing slowly.  It makes a big difference when you are not 16 anymore.

Hope you have a lovely day.
Robin