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Malia

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Dec 14, 2001, 11:11:18 AM12/14/01
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Has anyone used free-motion embroidery or thread painting on a decorative
quilt? If so I'd like to hear about your experience and any tips if you
would like to share.
I recently cut out a "Bird of Paradise" flower out of the appropriate
colors and appliquéd it onto some scrap fabric and then onto a sweatshirt
when it was complete. I thought it was blah, and I couldn't find a color of
bluish, purple in my fabric stash. So I traced that piece onto the rest of
the appliqué and found the perfect color thread in my stash. I outlined it
first and then just colored it in, using my sewing machine as my crayon (so
to speak). I was so impressed that I dug out some oranges, gold, silver,
green and blue and added random lines following the shape of the other
petals and just couldn't stop! It turned out great! I didn't have a
stabilizer so I used recycled computer paper to put underneath. I then cut
it out and applied it to my sweatshirt. So far it is just machine basted on
with clear thread. I didn't want to zigzag it down, in case I wanted to
change it, so I am trying to figure a way to get my edges down nicely and
yet be removable. Hubby is a carpenter and I found some thin bright yellow
cord in his bucket and stole it. I'm thinking of using clear thread and
stitch the cord all the way around my flower.
Now I want to apply something similar (using free motion) to a quilted
wall hanging, any advice?
Mahalo (thank you) Malia


Kathy

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Dec 14, 2001, 2:28:23 PM12/14/01
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Malia <jma...@hawaii.rr.com> wrote:

> Has anyone used free-motion embroidery or thread painting on a decorative
> quilt? If so I'd like to hear about your experience and any tips if you
> would like to share.

I do this quite a bit. Might have something to do with the fact that I'm
a thread junkie. Or the fact that I can do thread painting on a nice
fabric faster than I can piece something for a quick gift. :)

My only tips for thread painting on tops are:

1) Stabilizers and hoops are your best friends.
2) Faster is easier
3) Careful steam pressing onto cotton batt or terry cloth is your next
best friend.
4) "Bobbinfil" or "lingerie thread" make great bobbin threads. They
stretch slightly when the stitch is formed, and then pull back just a
bit, which makes sure your bobbin thread won't show on the top.

If you want to do the quilt itself, make sure the quilt is well
stabilized (SID, 1/4" outline, etc.) before doing the dense stitching.
That will keep it from going wonky.

--
Kathy Applebaum (Woodland, CA)
longarm machine quilting
mailto:Kayney...@compuserve.com

Dragonfly

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Dec 14, 2001, 5:58:01 PM12/14/01
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Maurine Noble's book on Machine Quilting has a wonderful bird quilt in it
that is made almost entirely of thread. It is a whole-cloth quilt,
hand-painted with lots of dyes bleeding into each other in a riot of mostly
oranges and reds, with this huge bird gettting ready to take off in the
middle. I think the name of the quilt is something about a phoenix rising
from the ashes.
--
Dragonfly
dragonfly_quilts at hotmail.com


"Malia" <jma...@hawaii.rr.com> wrote in message
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Ruth in Happy Camp

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Dec 14, 2001, 10:35:56 PM12/14/01
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I'm curious. Did you ask your husband's permission to - uh - borrow
some of his thin yellow cord? I do hope you are not cutting up his chalk
line.
--
Ruth in Happy Camp

"Malia" <jma...@hawaii.rr.com> wrote in message
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Malia

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Dec 18, 2001, 9:10:09 PM12/18/01
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Weeelllllll.......it WAS supposed to be his chalk line! He has more than
one, so he's still a happy camper. It takes a lot to ruffle his feathers.
But we both appreciate and respect each others crafts and tools. He digs
around in my stuff as much as, maybe more than I go digging around in his
stuff. But, no! I did not ask, but instead just told him I did it and he
said oh well just keep it in your stash of STUFF! I really love him.
"Ruth in Happy Camp" <or...@sisqtel.net> wrote in message
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