I’ve got not quite a quarter of the honeycomb blocks done for the background on Lorr’s quilt. In this picture I have only about half the finished fog on the wall.
It’s gone a bit slowly because I’ve been testing ironing seams this way, that way, pressed open . . . I think I’ve got what I want now. I’m happy, happy, happy.
The colors, the variety, the textures. Yup, I’m happy. If all goes as planned, this will be a stunning quilt.
Now that the picture is up, can you see what’s wrong? This is why pictures are so important! In the very center of the picture, see the blue sky showing through the leaves? Oops. Can’t see the sky through the trunk. I’ll have to replace that with a non-sky piece. It’s the little things . . .
Test auditioning the fog fabric.Drafting the template
Now that the leaf portion of the tree for Lorr’s quilt is done, I’m working on the background fog. I don’t want it to be all one foggy piece of fabric, I want it to be more in keeping with the rest of the quilt, more random color and texture.
I’d been searching for over a year to find enough foggy batik fabrics for this part of Lorr’s quilt, but they just aren’t out there. Progress was at a halt.
Our Guild had a fabric dying workshop with the fabulous David Christensen. I dyed 10 yards of batik quality fabric trying for perfect soft shades for the fog. Some of the pieces are too dark, but not too many. Overall, the result was a nice collection of soft greens, blues and grays with enough texture to be interesting.
I had originally intended to use one of the Dance template sets for this portion of the quilt, but I’ve since changed my mind. I’m going with a machine sewn honeycomb block. Sewing this block by machine isn’t for the faint of heart. I’ve developed a technique that gives me accurate placement of the pieces. I’ll try and get a tutorial together showing the technique.
I drafted the 2″x4″ template for the honeycomb block on pallet slip sheet cardboard. I get this at the local feed store. It’s a 4’x4′ sheet of thin cardboard that’s waxed or plasticized which makes it a little difficult to write on, but it makes great templates . . . and it’s free!
I used my cutting fabrics using cardboard templates technique so as not to damage my template. The only adjustment I made was to not move any of the fabric for the second cut as it preps the end of the strip for the next template placement.
I think I’m going to like this block and fabric for the fog. The sewing’s a bit tedious and nearly every seam is a Y seam, but I think the end result will definitely be worth the effort.
I restarted the leaf portion of Lorr’s quilt. My original iteration hung on the wall and I just wasn’t happy. I couldn’t make myself continue with what I’d started. It was months before I realized what it was I didn’t like. I’ve redone it and now, I’m happy!
