I'm revisiting Feeling Blue in this post to show you how I quilted the frame. My inspiration for the frame treatment was tramp art - a form of folk art wood carving created during the depression by hobos using salvaged wood - cigar boxes and fruit crates were popular sources of wood. Frames and boxes are common tramp art applications. Intricate designs were made using simple V shaped notches in the wood, layering notched segments to create intriguing geometric designs as seen below.
So, how did I take this folk art form and interpret it in fabric as a frame for Feeling Blue?
My focus was to create the repetitive imagery of the V notch in every manipulation of the fabric I used in the frame. No other stitch suggests a V as a zig zag stitch. My first step was to quilt the framing background fabric (Moda from the Basic Grey line, and backed with batting) using a zig zag stitch and a red contrasting thread. I quilted the fabric as a whole cloth, and once quilted cut the fabric into strips wider than required to create the tubes which I would construct later to cover the slats of stretcher frame. Layer one of my V notch development.
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Moving onto layer two. Layer Two is an open prairie point strip in red. I created the prairie points using the strip cutting and folding method - I did not use the special ruler created for this purpose - you can easily accomplish this without the ruler. Click here to see a great tutorial on this method of creating prairie points. So here are my finished points, a view from the fold side.
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Now to create the third layer - it actually consists of 2 steps of V's. Step one involves cutting a strip of wool - I used a beautiful teal gray wool for this portion of the process. I initially tried using a pinking shears to cut the wool but I could not keep to a straight line no matter how hard I tried. I ended up running out to Joann's Fabric with my coupon in hand to purchase the zigzag rotary cutting blade which worked beautifully to cut generous 1/2 inch strips.
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Step 2 of Layer three - attaching the wool strip to the background component. I was working with layers of fabric here - batting, background, the multiple folds of the prairie points, and the wool. I used my walking foot to help to move the pinned layers smoothly. Maintaining a straight line was so important to pull off this technique successfully. I used the triple zigzag stitch to anchor the wool strip with a beautiful red variegated thread from the YLI Colours line - I ran out of that beautiful thread after completing three strips of the four strips - PANIC! Emergency call to Ladyfingers Sewing - of course the paper ID from the spool of thread was long lost - I tried to describe the thread to Denise at the shop and she thought she had it in stock. Jump in the car - speed to the shop - eureka! - they had one spool in stock!
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Here's my finished strip with three layers of V application.
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Now I had to get this fabric into tubes to slide over the stretcher frames. I wanted a tight fit and adjusted my measurements accordingly. I did a number of samples until I was happy with the fit, you should do the same. Sewing the tubes was a piece of cake - turning them was not fun - but, you can do it, be patient, take your time!
Remember I said there was a "complication" with the prairie points - here it comes - duck! When I stitched the prairie points to the background fabric I used a wide zigzag, not for appearance sake - but to try to "grab" the folds and anchor them securely. Unfortunately some of my points began to unfold after the tube turning - no problem a few little hand stitches behind the scenes (and a smitch of glue) can't handle.
The next step in the framing process involved mitering and math - admittedly not my forte, but I got this far and I wasn't giving up. You need to cut your tubes to fit your frame, including cutting the correct angle - it was easier than I thought. Boys need miter boxes - quilters can manage this with a good ruler. Once I cut the tubes to the correct length and angle, it was time to slide them onto the stretcher frames and hand sew the mitered angles together. Stretcher frames are wobbley - but using this treatment really added stability to the wooden frame.
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A fourth element of the tramp art application involves hiding the joinery of the hand-stitched corners. I made simple rosettes out of a pinked strip of wool by gathering one edge of the strip and pulling. A handsome silver button helps to anchor the rosette to the corners.
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The fifth and final layer of the quilted tramp art process was applied to the quilt, not the frame component. After completing the frame I was very happy with it's overall appearance, but I did not like the overall scale of the frame in relation to the size of the quilt. To enlarge the appearance of the frame I decided to add prairie points to the finished quilt component to peek out from behind the frame perimeter, creating the illusion of a larger frame.
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The actual Feeling Blue quilt is attached to the back of the frame using tacks to secure it.
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3 comments:
marvelous tut - thank you so much for taking the time to post it - I appreciate it. I quilt outside the lines, much to the chagrin of my very conservative group.
Just came across your blog yesterday with the grilled pizza - dinner tonight.
Your profile photo is THE BEST ! made my day ...
I love this! Great photos of the process too! Thanks!
What a great project! I'm inspired.
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