Polly at the R.I shore modeling her "exclusive" hand-dyed, custom quilted birthday tote..FABULOUS DAHLINK!!!!!!!!!

Pre tote bag... just quilted fabric at this point.....

Late afternoon shadows really enhance the quilting.....

I'm taking orders.......

who wants one??????

Finished!

well.. almost except for the binding in this last shot.... but my "binder"( Hi Mom!) has since reported it being completed...
Sometimes when working on a single project for an extended period of time ( it's been a year) it is hard to get a clear perspective . In this case the ( almost) finished project left me feeling a bit wanting. I was stressing it and second guessing myself ( unusual because 95% of the time the quilt top has been created by the client.....this was that 5% where is was all my design but still dictated by the scarves themselves) Then my Mom suggested we put it on the bed. That made ALL the difference.
Now I am confident that whichever residence( Texas or Indiana) it calls home , will be just the right place for it to be viewed used and enjoyed!
I learned a LOT about working with silk from this project,mostly that it has a mind of its own. I did enjoy the challenge of taking these "ruined" scarves and creating a new useful and ( hopefully) aesthetically pleasing piece that will remind the owner of the memories and events each scarf signifies.

Hello finish line!!!

WOW.
I can't believe it's finally quilted!!
The 2 close ups are a more accurate color representation btw.....
I tried for a simple quilting approach.....letting the silk fabrics speak for themselves without a lot of competition form the quilting...
I cant decide if I've achieved this until I get to see it hung up outside in the daylight on my clothesline.
This may not happen tomorrow as the forecast is calling for rain.
Bummer!

ALMOST ready to quilt!!

I decided to add the few remaining inches to the shortest strips.
Mostly because I usually ADD to things rather than remove or cut......
and isn't bigger better anyway?
Call me a "Size Queen", see if I care.....
So another day later and I FINALLY have the thing ready for the machine.....
should have the backing sewn up and then both pieces pinned to the machine.
That's the goal...but I seem to be moving at a slower pace these days!.......

kickin silk BUTT!

SOOOOOOOOO. yeah its been AWHILE.......
I'm stationed at home for the next SEVERAL WEEKS.... RECOOPING FROM MAJOR SURGERY..
( doing fine though thankyouverymuch) and I've been struggling with this silk scarves project.... mostly because its slippery everywhich way I turn....
( on the face side AND the back fused lightweight interfacing side)
BUT........ I think I've got it nailed... I span the presser foot so that the fabrics are only Under the left set of the feeddogs and the right set is left to grip the presser foot which FINALLY is giving me a bite!!
I'm using pins and pulling the fabric as it comes out the back as well as holding the fabrics TAUT...BEFORE they go under the presserfoot!
WHEW!!

Still deciding on the final size of the finished product....( always am compelled to do BED SIZE STUFF !?)
If that is so then the strips will need to be added on to.....
Planning on buying backing fabric this weekend . I found some taupey asian influenced stuff at Shipshe last time I was there.....I'm hoping it will still be there to purchase....
Regardless,I will take this whole thing with me to perfect backing fabric auditions if need be....
Its a tough job but you know I'm up to the task.! (* wink!*)

Sik Scarf "Upcycling" project continued...

Remember these..?
Late last summer I took this pic of a collection of silk scarves that had sustained dye-transfer damage due to a water leak.I had been comissioned to create a new textile piece from these scarves.
Not having much experience working with silk, I soon discovered it was like working with ( for a lack of a better term) "fluttery butter".
This has been a slow on-going project due to many different factors, time and motivational challenges. ( wake me up when it's Spring...)
This time I actually took the advice of my mother (hi Mom!) and used a light fusible interfacing to stabilize them and so far so good.( it took a long while to fuse them and some scarves only partially, I wanted to get some of each fused so I could start visualizing and playing with color placement)...
so... I guess you could call this step 3 ( step 2 :Fusing just wasn't photo worthy..)
Next is step 4 color placement and construction
They are now cut into strips 9 and 4.5 inches ( of varying lengths). I will post pics of the next step as it is completed .....
Stay tuned for the ongoing drama of silk scarves upcycling project of 08/09.....