Sunday, October 14, 2007

"H"'s Frame, Completed

At this late date it seemed a bit risky to add a strong new design element to this quilt, but I thought, "What the heck?" H would always tell me, "Go for it, Girly! What are you afraid of?"
So I took that row of blue detached chain stitches that surrounded the outside of the frame and...er...went for it.

I did some needleweaving through the chainstitches using tatting thread, hand-dyed 4 mm silk ribbon, hand-dyed silk floss, and some nasty orange rayon multi-plyed thread. Nasty because rayon like this is tough to work with normally, but using it as a weft in needle-weaving was fine.

The addition of that line of scalloped beads was the risk. I was worried they would be too dominant. But this quilt has so much busyness going on that it just swallowed this chunky frame of beads with a small lady-like burp.

Here's an overall shot so you can see what I mean. It's not overpowering at all, just defines and accentuates the center a bit more.

I'm at a good stopping point on the H quilt for a little while, though. The reason is this:

An Epson R1800 13" widebed printer. My son's friend's dad is lending it to me, as he has upgraded to a higher end printer for his fine art photography.

Would you look at those extra colors and even an additional black?

I've been busy bugging the experts on Yahoo's inkjetfabricprinting list (such wonderful, helpful people)....and learned that even though you don't need Bubblejetset to make the pigment based inks that Epson uses permanent, it can help create a slightly crisper image. We are all about getting that crisp image.
The fabrics are flat silk crepe and a cotton sateen from Dharma, and an interesting cotton/silk blend from Blueprints on Fabric. So it's back to fabric printing funnies for me! I'll keep you posted as to how it goes....

14 comments :

Jane said...

Hi Allie, What are the dimensions of the "H" quilt? I am enjoying the progress as you go along... have fun with the printer!

Vicki W said...

The H frame is perfect!

Debra Dixon said...

No rest for the creative, eh? H is looking fine!

Possibilities, Etc. said...

The beads look wonderful - they dance energetically but stay their own stage on that scale. Can't believe that fine printer - I am still struggling with my new little simple HP printer. Too dumb to live sometimes.

Barbara C said...

I love the woven fibers you used for trim, and the orange beads are fab. The piece is developing a folkloric feel, up close anyway. As you say, from a distance it's just a moderate emphasis.

verobirdie said...

Whatever you do, you seem to enjoy yourself a lot! Good luck with the superprinter !

Granny Fran said...

The H center needed that oomph to keep from getting lost with so much going on. It looks wonderful. Look forward to seeing what you can do with your great new plaything.

Threadspider said...

I do love that quilt and its well mannered burp and I'm really looking forward to seeing what you do with that printer fabric. Keep the technical stuff coming too about which performs best and what you have to do to get those sharp images.

Pat Winter Gatherings said...

The quilt is beautiful Allie. I love the border,it really makes a statement and pulls everything together.I haven't tried my mini rick rack yet. I bought some from a lady at the Chicago Quilt fest this Spring. It was so cute and came in so many colors. I thought it would be great for my mini CQ pendants.

Marty52 said...

I think the final border really made the center, Allie. It pulled the oranges from the inner area to the outer, bringing it all together. The diamond form of this quilt really pops with the dark corners laying "behind" it.

Love it.

JoWynn Johns said...

Your use of rick rack, now echoed in the orange bead border, is so supportive of your intention to create a quilt in the manner of the 19th century crazy quilts, (reminiscent of them?) with an up-to-date interpretation. Whether or not they used rick rack in the 19th century, it says, "old fashioned" and "homey." Totally appropriate. The H quilt is stunningly beautiful.

Kay said...

Wow, the printer looks intimidating! Have you printed on organza? I've read about that, but haven't seen any of the pre-treated stuff on sale here.

The beads are perfect. You're amazing.

sharonb said...

The H looks great - as it really took the heavy handed approach. Lovely quilt Allie

Ann Christine Dennison said...

I just love this quilt!!!!!