Achieving a Goal

There are many things that I would like to accomplish in my lifetime.  Some of them are related to quilting and some are not.  I have reached a couple of them lately.

The first was visiting where my mother and grandmother were born: Budapest, Hungary.   I also got to meet distant relatives there which is something I had not expected and it was fantastic.

Second, I have always aspired to win a ribbon in an American Quilters Society show.  I won three of them when they had a young designers category in Paducah.  This week I won my first ribbon against stiff competition in an AQS show in Syracuse, New York.   My quilt Harmony's Loop took third place in its category behind Janet Stone and Joanne Baeth who are both amazing quilters.  I was surprised and overjoyed.

When I enter a contest I don't expect to win. I always hope to won, but sometimes I do and I sometimes I don't. So when I win it's always exciting! Now I am invigorated to finish up my current competition quilt.

Suzy

Spanish Synagogue, Prague, Czech Republic

My favorite building is still St. Matthias' Church in Budapest, Hungary.  However, I found The Spanish Synagogue in Prague in the Czech Republic just as intriguing.  A lot of the ornament was cut out of wood about a quarter inch thick. It was also all painted.  Again I took many pictures.

The building's decoration was originally designed by two architects.  It was used as a storehouse for confiscated Jewish goods during World War Two and then fell into disrepair.  The renovation was completed in 1998.

Here you can see the thickness of

the carving.

The pipe organ

The ornament surrouding the lower section of the dome.

Detail of the pipe organ

The window above the main altar

Detail of a painted glass window

I know it is hard to see, but I love this ornament painted on the wall.

I am going to miss all this European inspiration!

Suzy

Warmth

I just finished a quilt in which I had to do all the flowers in cool colors because the background fabric was red.  I love it and I enjoyed working on it, but I definitely am having fun picking out warm colored fabrics now.

The center orange and yellow print is part of a rose fabric.  It had a shape similar to the piece I had to cut out so I wanted to try it.  It's really high contrast, but the shapes in the fabric add movement which I like.  The inner dark orange petals went nicely and added some more dynamics to the block.  I used a lighter orange thread to blanket-stitch those petals so that they stood out.  Again, I found that the large dot had to be the darkest fabric.

Since I wanted to outline the large dot in red, I also chose an orange for the inner red and orange petals because I have found that I don't like it when two pieces right next to each other are blanket-stitched in the same color thread.  If they're different their is more definition and separation between each piece.

I used the following threads:

• Outer yellow petals - Madiera Polyneon 40.  This polyester thread has a lot of sheen, but not as much as I expected; almost as much sheen as glide, but not quite.  It's very smooth and silky and was wonderful to work with.
• Inner red and orange petals - Gutermann Polyester thread.  I use a size 80 Microtex needle and I had a hard time getting this thread through the needle.  If I were to use it again I would definitely use a larger size 90 needle.  I did like that it was a thicker thread with little sheen.  I didn't want the thread on this busy fabric to take away from it so I was looking for something quiet with little sheen.
• Inner orange frame outline - Isacord machine embroidery thread.  In comparison to the Madeira Polyneon it definitely has less sheen.  This might be useful when trying to add sheen to accent something, but not as much as a focal point.
• Yellow and orange print - Deco-bob by Wonderfil Threads.  This thread is easy to use and definitely has a nice sheen to it.  I was trying to find a thread that matched the lightest orange in the fabric so that I could accent that color instead of the darker red.
• Large red dot - Fufu embroidery thread.  I must admit that I love the way this looks.  This thread has a ton of sheen, almost like metallic thread without all the peskiness that metallic requires....but that's another story for later.  I definitely want this thread in more colors! 
• Small orange dot - Isacord machine embroidery thread.  Again, little sheen, but that's okay because it's not what I wanted to accent in the block.

I must admit that sometimes I end up using a thread simply because it's the only one I have that is the right color.  That's okay too.  What I'm discovering is that different types of thread are adding more dimension to my blocks and I am truly happy with that.

It's also interesting to compare this block to the other one I did in red and yellow.  They have similar colors, but that pink dot definitely makes a statement.  It's also interesting to note where the lights and darks are in each block.  I think I like their placement in the top block better than in the bottom block, but I am unsure why.  Something to think about.

Suzy

Melk Abbey Inspiration

A few days ago  we went to Melk Abbey in Austria.  I was again the girl taking pictures of the ceiling. They abbey still has thirty monks and part of it is a school. It is in the baroque style which is so overdone and extravagant and full of ornament.  I love to look at all the details in these buildings.

Here are a few pictures-I  forgot to take a picture of the outside of the abbey on my phone...so that will have to wait until I get home.

Suzy

What do I do with those Thread Tails?

As a show quilter, it is important for me to know what is happening with the tails/ends of my threads. When quilting, I bury the ends inside the quilt sandwich to make sure that they don't start to ravel. This is especially important when working with slippery threads like polyester and rayon.

So....what do I do when them when I am machine appliqueing?

Well, if there is another piece that is going to be placed on top, I simply start with a few locking stitches and then trim the ends off.  When a piece of fusible is placed on top of those ends all the tails will be trapped and won't be able to move or to ravel.  This works on all the pieces of this flower block except the two dots.

To address this problem I do the following:

1. Get a self-thread needle.  Any brand will do.

   

   Self-Threading Needle

2. Thread the tails into the needle and pull them to the back of the block.
   
   
   
   
3. Tie the thread ends in a SQUARE KNOT to make sure it is strong.  
   
4. Now you have two choices:  
1. Simply cut about 1/4 inch away (shown above) from the knot and leave the tails in the middle of the quilt 
2. Thread the ends under the blanket stitches to make sure they can't move and peep out into your background fabric.  This is VERY important if you are using a light background fabric as dark threads have a tendency to show through.  This dark gray I am using does not have this problem so I am simply cutting my tails.  However, if I was using a white fabric I would definitely be more careful.
   

Remember....it is worth taking the time to deal with your thread tails right away!  That way you won't realize later that they are going to be a problem and show through your quilt.
Suzy

St. Matthias' Church

I had a quilting design idea explosion in Budapest, Hungary a few days ago.  My mother and grandmother were born here in Budapest and I am having a fantastic time getting to know the city and the culture.

St. Matthias' Church

We went up to the Castle on the Buda side of the city and went inside St. Matthias' Church.

This church is the king's church in Budapest and is painted with fantastic patterns inside.  Each section is painted differently. The patterns are a quilter's dream come true.  I could make many applique patterns or quilting designs inspired by this beautiful church. I bet I took a hundred pictures inside. Here are a few of them.

My Mother's Favorite Colors

This block is dedicated to my wonderful mother who taught me to quilt and continues to encourage and inspire me.  She loves teal and purple.  Many, many, many of her quilts are teal and purple.

I was inspired by a batik that combined these two colors.  I wish more of it showed in the block, but the scale of the print was rather large.  Sometime to think about in the future when choosing fabrics. I then picked various shades to go with it.  I knew there would have to be some contrast, so I purposely chose light and dark turquoise to help bring sparkle to the block.  It's really important to make sure to have enough contrast.  A block that is all medium value fabrics has little sparkle because there is no contrast for the eye to notice.

I also had to be careful with the dark purple fabric on this block.  You can see the lines of dots in it.  I fussy cut these pieces to make sure the dots were all going inwards.  To do this, I placed my fabric on a light box as I was putting down my fusible so that I could see what pattern I was getting.

The following threads were used:

• Outer dark turquoise petals-Glide by Fil-Tec Threads.  I love it's sheen and it continues to be my favorite polyester thread.
• Inner purple petals-Artist Studio Colors by Superior Threads.  This is a polyester thread and it has nice sheen.  It's a little thinner than the Glide and leaves a thinner line.  I like to use it on purpose sometimes when I don't want as thick of a line.
• Light turquoise and little dot-Isacord machine embroidery thread.  It is a similar thickness to the Glide thread, but does not have as much sheen.
• Turquoise and purple print-Sulky Rayon 40 weight.  This thread is thick like the Glide and has almost as much sheen.
• Big dot-Artist Studio Colors by Superior Threads.  This particular color of thread is interesting as it is very gray in tone.  I find it a challenge to use sometimes as I tend to use very bright colors.  However, this particular dot was a little grayer than I normally use and so I decided to try it.  As I was stitching it out, I wasn't sure it was going to be the best choice, but in the end it blended well and lets the other fabrics and threads stand out which is what I wanted.

Love you mom!

Suzy