Monofilament...Love it or ??

I suppose the jury is still out on this discussion, at least for me.

A couple of months ago I was fortunate enough to take a class from David Taylor. I'm sure if you've seen his work you'd recognize the name (or the other way around...). He's an amazing quilter with such artistic sense, and the way he pulls his works of art together are through machine applique using monofilament as a top thread. Makes sense, as the monofilament pretty much can not be seen (both figuratevely and literally). His technique is really quite simple and I have started to embrace it quite a little bit. I almost didn't even take the class once I saw that it was machine applique, but I tried the class anyway, thinking, "I can always stand to learn something new". I did learn something new and am quite glad I took the class. But, that darned monofilament...

To call it a thread may be a stretch. Ha! That's humorous in its own right as that monofilament has quite the stretchy quality to it. I think I like the idea of using it...I think my machine tends to think otherwise. It likes to twist and get tangled and get stuck and then it messes with the tension, so while I'm sewing, I have to constantly watch what the top thread is doing as it's threaded through the machine while also watching where my stitching is going (I think I need more eyes to watch everything)... 

Practice, though, over and over, and listening to my machine, I'm starting to "hear" when the monofilament is tangled and know it's time to stop sewing and give the monfilament some attention (as it's clearly begging for some), and then I can go back to sewing. Thank goodness that machine applique isn't a "sew at the speed of light" kind of activity.

In the end, using the monofilament for machine applique does produce rewards, and like a game of golf, keeps you coming back for more. You make that one cool looking applique item (or golf shot), that you figure, "I've got this", even though you know there's a frustrating part coming (a bad shot, or in the case of monofilament, a tangled mess). You just have to keep on keepin' on, though... As I worked through the tangled messes, I have managed to create a cool rendition of the Earth, using David's technique and the spool of monofilament I received in the class. The creative fun with the technique just opens up another door of design, and I think I'll continue to explore the fun it can produce. My Earth has overlapping colors which help create a transparent nature, along with a large leaf to just change up the shapes and bring in another interesting component that's "Earth-like".

Close up, you can see some of where the stitching got more prominent that I'd like...but...I think it still works...

Despite the frustrations some of our materials provide, sometimes perseverance and practice will pay off. My current piece is for a musically-inspired quilt challenge, so I'm trying to see if I can get my piece put together for our show in October.

Here's my contemporary rendition of the Earth.  I think it's kind of cool with the overlapping, transparent circles. 

Have fun embracing new techniques as you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. As with most things, you just have to figure out how to work with the different technique personalities.

Cheers!

Linking up with Nina Marie @ Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

...and Free Motion Mavericks today. 

 The Race is On…

Here we are - late August and deadlines are fast approaching.  In October, the Guild has its annual quilt show, annual fundraiser auction, and as part of the quilt show, there’s a “challenge” quilt category, which this year is “musically inspired quilts”.  That’s a lot to unpack, there, isn’t it?  Time is short to get everything completed in time.  I’m going to try, though, and see what I can get accomplished. 

It’s a bit surprising to track how long it actually takes to quilt your three-layers on a sit-down machine.  No computer involved to guide you - it’s all you and your harmony with your design and your machine.  Here’s a couple shots of the quilt I’m hoping to finish for the Quilt Show.  There’s definitely things I could have done differently, I think, but I think it’ll turn out okay.  Not a prize winner, but just entering in the show is fun.  What would I have done differently?  For one, I would have used the back side of the printed fabric for the blocks (David Taylor educated us to a front and back side of fabric - not a right or wrong side)...but I didn’t and forged ahead, so it’s what it is.  The Dresden Plates are just more subtle in the design.  I am hoping by heavily quilting the center of each block, leaving the Dresdens minimally quilted, would let the Dresdens stand out a bit more - especially after the quilt is washed.  We’ll see.  Tis a bit of an experiment…  I’m thinking the name of the quilt needs to be “Gypsy” or “Bohemian” or something along those lines…

I am having fun with the free motion quilting, though.  Very freeing to just get ideas in your brain and let go and have fun. I tend to mark a couple of main elements that I want (and where I want them) and then I just fill in around the main elements.

Close up of the free motion quilting I'm having fun with. The applique flowers pull from the background fabric in the block.

Now, the auction quilt.  That’s an earlier deadline, and I just need to get started on the quilting. It’s a wall hanging and this time I’m trying to use some 3-dimensional elements.  Perhaps I’ve captured a sunny fall day in Colorado walking amongst the Aspen trees as they put on their annual show.  It’s a bit conceptual, but I think it’ll work…another experiment, I think. 

I found all this lovely blue fabric and it felt like it would combine to make an interesting “sky”/background for the trees.  If you’ve seen any of the iconic photos of the fall Aspens here in Colorado, folks often times shoot with the deep blue Colorado sky in the background, with the gold Aspen leaves contrasting.  So, now my goal is to get it quilted...like I said, "the race is on...".

Been gone for a while, and hoping to get back to blogging more often as I am shifting gears in life and taking time off from work.  Constant stress is no way to spend every day, so, I’m “tapping out” for a while to see what the universe has to offer.  I took some quilting classes this summer and I’ll share some of those experiences in my next posting.  There’s always something to learn out there and you can be surprised by how much you can use the various techniques.  There’s certainly a world of exploration…waiting….

‘Till next time…happy creating!