More progress...and a new trick

More progress--another four pinwheel blocks done. This is only half just to show you the color combo so far. Two more colors (and 8 more blocks) to go.








I tried a new trick tonight. I've seen it demo'd lots of places and it's in lots of books; I'd just never tried it myself.

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It's hard to tell from this picture, but peer very, very closely and you can see that the center of the block where all the points connect is just a little puffy. My points came together exactly as they should, but because of the bulk of the seams in the center, it pokes out a little bit. Used to be, I'd just live with it. But I decided to take the time to make it better.

 Here's the result--see how nicely the center lays? It even makes the points look even better!


So, how does that happen?


Instead of pressing the center seam all one direction, you press half of it going the opposite direction--so all the center seams are now chasing each other around the block, so to speak. You then pick apart the center where all four seams come together and press it flat. See that cute little itty bitty pinwheel? How adorable is that?

Cute, but a little bit of a pain. With a pinwheel block there's all sorts of seams coming together and it takes a bit to sort out which ones want to go in which direction. You might have to pick apart a couple of stitches as well.

But boy, does it make a difference to the block. I like this little trick!

Playing with Lutradur, Part 1

Have you heard of Lutradur yet? Pretty cool stuff. If I recall the story, it actually started out as roofing material but pretty soon some enterprising person decided to play around with it as textile art and an entire new industry was born. We probably pay more for it than roofers did, too, although it's surprisingly inexpensive. (Cheaper than fabric!)

Lutradur comes in two weights--one slightly heavier than the other, although (for comparison) both lighter than that really stiff interfacing you use for fabric bowls and the like. You can print on it, sew through it, glue it, use it with angelina fibers, paint it, dye it, melt it to make it "lace,"....the sky is the limit!

In January I was in Columbus, OH, and with a little free time on my hands I visited Quilt Trends quilt shop, which is heavy on art quilts and materials therein. Lots of embellishments, funky fabrics, and rolls of Lutradur. I was intrigued. Bought a yard or so of the roll, which gives me plenty to experiment with, and the book Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur, by Lesley Riley. A couple of weeks ago I downloaded a video on it, also by Lesley, from Quilting Arts Workshop. I couldn't wait to start playing! Decided today was the day--no sharp objects involved at this stage so my cold meds shouldn't be a problem.

To begin, I'm experimenting with photo printing. You can print photos directly on the Lutradur, but you get different effects if you use different "primers" as well.

I'm testing out three methods: one printed on plain Lutradur,

one with gesso applied,

the other with an acrylic matte gel.

I used a large foam brush to apply both--washing thoroughly in between, although I don't suppose there's a huge problem if a little of one gets mixed with the other. I'm not conversant with art materials so I don't really know.

You have to do this on plastic--laying cloth underneath would absorb the primer out of the Lutradur, making you have to use twice as much.

And now I have to let it dry for 24 hours before I can start printing, although I can at least do the plain Lutradur print tonight. I have to change my ink cartridge, though--and will probably go through another one in this experiment. My printer chews up ink cartridges like nobody's business!

I'll post the side-by-sides when I've printed the other two versions. I'll also post pics once I've done something with these experiments. This isn't a tutorial--I'd have to actually know what I'm doing for it to be a tutorial. It's just a "follow along as I play" kind of thing. So, more later~