FYI...I washed my quilt when finished..as I always do...with a teeny bit of soap, Synthrapol is a detergent, and 4(I could've done more)
colorcatchers! I feel it was the colorcatchers that did the job as they were quite dark when done. Besides all the batik
I have black inner and wide red outer borders !! Worked for me.

crocus999 wrote: Personally speaking I would skip the washing until after you are feeling less pressure. Be sure to try phoning ahead first! However you can work on the 300 words submission in the meantime (unless you have been efficient & already written it) I am in editing mode at the moment, it s not a lot of space to condense so much fun & thinking that took place.

Thanks, Rosemary, now to try to find a place to buy the Synthrapol on Sunday or Monday (most of our quilt shoppes are closed on Mondays, and since we've recently lost three local ones, this will mean a mean drive out to the boondocks.)
Has anyone ever just used vinegar or is that a myth - I used to use it for my jeans when I was considerably younger to keep them blue. (Funny that now-a-days they want to take the colour out and rip them too!)

ClaraLawrence wrote: Not 'done for'?

Should we be saying 'chat to you again on Tuesday?'

crocus999 wrote: As far as I understand it Retayne is for washing lengths of fabric before you use it and it helps stick the dye to the fabric and Synthrapol is for after you have cut all the fabrics up and stitched them together and you don't want the dye to stick to the fabric. Colour Catchers are also so that the dye doesn't stick to the fabric, because it is too busy sticking to the Colour Catcher.

As for whether it is better to wash before or after your photo shoot - I went for before because I thought someone else said that they had had one or two of their batiks run, and after the 'fun' (for a very limited definition of fun)I had getting the red of my backing to stop running, I couldn't face risking it. Mind you a steaming over whilst it is hanging would probably not go amiss - if it is possible.

As for more quilting - why not! There are some stitching lines in my centre that I really do not like and I am planning on re-doing them in the near future (if I leave it too long it won't happen ) But they really are dreadful to my mind and I know that I can do better.

Just doing the binding now, but after reading some of these posts, I see that some people used Synthrapol to wash. I bought Retayne and colour catchers....Now, I am confused.

Ques: Is it better to photograph before or after the washing? I'm hoping mine will be finished for a double-deadline - May 1st for the book, and May 4th, (including sleeve) for our local guild show. Also, I may 'cheat' a bit and put the binding on, and if I have time do a bit more quilting, as I'd rather have it heavily quilted. Just maybe not for the photo.

Oh Renata! I found myself nodding my head and saying YES as I was reading your post! You are absolutely correct about everything!!

YES! Collect quilt pics, collect quilting design idea, collect color combos, collect doodles, collect whatever inspires you!!

YES! Duplicating and repeating design elements over the quilt top is a key of good design. It helps with balance and unity.

YES! The old adage of "Curved quilting with strait piecing and strait quilting with curved piecing" still applies! This is why many geometric quilt patterns look so good with flowing curving quilting. And why applique quilts look so wonderful with gridwork in the backgrounds. The contrasting designs complement each other.

YES! The computer is your friend. And you already have experience with digitizing and embroidery, so that is a great area for you to expand your designing into. I love the idea of you perhaps digitizing a doodle of your own in Corel and then printing it out... copy onto Golden Threads paper, and stitch it yourself with your FMQ! I do think that as you get better at following a line (the pattern), then you will develop the confidence to go totally freehand!

YES! Finding your groove and PPP are so important. I am so happy you had such success the other day with the music and relaxing into it. It's like a Pas De Deux--your DSM is your partner. I bet if you practice an hour every day (or at least on a schedule that fits your life) you will see great improvements!

Renata, YOU GO GIRL!!!

Hubby is done and I'm off and busy!!!

heartnsoulquilts wrote:
Michelle,
Thank you for the in-depth explanation how you did the quilting with your longarm machine, how you set up the designs in the Intellquilter Robotic system, and finally, your process for designing the quilting and relationship between quilt-top and design. I printed out your Forum posting and studied it carefully. I am keeping it in my quilting notebook as a guide to refer to.

First, I find very helpful how you think about quilting as you decide what your quilt top will look like and reach into your experience for what looks good as you take your first swag at designing the quilting portion and then audition and coordinate elements of design. What this says for me, as a beginner, is that I should collect pictures of quilts that have quilting I particularly like and think I am capable of duplicating at this early stage of my quilting journey, ensuring that for a “focus” design, some key elements are duplicated elsewhere in the quilt (as you did with the pearls). I also like how you try to soften a hard geometric design with soft curves. I needed this explanation to help me as I think about my own quilting. Understanding actually takes the sting and uncertainty out of trying!

Second, I really like your use of computer software to edit and play with your design. I have V6 software for my Bernina and can do the same editing of designs in the CorelDraw portion of it, then print the design, copy onto tracing paper and turn to FMQ that way. If I wanted to automate my design and let the embroidery module of my Bernina 830 do the heavy lifting, I could digitize my design and the only challenge I would have would be multiple re-hooping. I agree with you that this method would not make the process any faster. However, since my goal is to improve my FMQ on a domestic machine, for now I don’t have to go there.

Finally, I could not agree more that only practice will make the difference! I’ve been practicing for quite a while on practice pieces ONLY and doggedly determined NOT to use a stitch regulator on my domestic machine. Finally, last week, to the tune of some especially beautiful music that transported me to a different world (that must have been it!), I was blissfully unaware that my foot on the pedal and fabric moving under the needle were humming along… and then it hit me that I had found my stride for consistency in the length of the stitch and I was also relaxed! Now I just have to learn to follow my markings on the quilt top—again, practice does make the difference!

So, thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and insights—I know I just benefited greatly from them!
Cheers,
Renata

I love my husband. I say this now so that I don't strangle him. While I'm quickly taking care of my kids needs he cuts the power to our bedroom to work on a quick project. Why is the bedroom an issue. Well my sewing machine is in there. I love my husband. I will not strangle him. On the funny side I've never scene him run like that trying to get a job finished. To be continued and hopefully not on the news.

Editing the photos !!!! Closer, closer!

loise98 wrote: Thank you so much for posting the results so quickly. I found myself holding my breathe while reading about washing your quilt. Whew. Glad it's fine. Turquoise and indigo blues seem (to me) to hold a lot of dye and release for a while. I love those color catchers too. I've never pinned them on. Interesting idea. I'm in the binding stage, so I better not dottle too much on line. Gotta go. Clara

Quilting is done. Now to do the binding, label, pictures... better get busy...

Lorna

It was fine. The wash cycle just finished. There was a little bit of color on some of the color catchers. It worked fine. I will not be afraid to wash this quilt although I will not do that often because it is a wall quilt. It is in the dryer now fluffing up a bit. In a few minutes I will lay it flat to finish drying. I think if you use Synthapol and color catchers you should be fine. Good luck finishing up your work. I designed my label but I have never printed on fabric. Lets hope there are no glitches with that tomorrow. Lois