Flynn Quilt Frame

I apologize to those of you who were wanting to know more about  how the frame worked.  It's been a busy summer and then lots of computer issues.

Here is a picture of my quilt in the frame at the machine.

[caption id="attachment_527" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Flynn Quilt set up"][/caption]

This piece is still unfinished.   I must continue thread painting on the faces and hands.  But with the other quilting done it is making in very easy to work with.

[caption id="attachment_528" align="aligncenter" width="197" caption="The Betrayal"][/caption]

The background circles for this piece were quilted on the Flynn frame.  Most machines have between the have from 6 – 9 inches of space between the needle and the back post of the machine.   Although my machine has a smaller amount of room and I only had about 4-41/2" of quilting space it still worked quite well.  I was able to quilt small circles across the width of my quilt and then roll it to the next section and keep going.

I found the frame very easy to adjust and easy to control.   I was very pleased with how flat and nice the back of the quilt was, not puckers at all.

One thing you need to make sure is that your batting is at least two inches more than the quilt top all the way around and that your backing is also around 6 inches longer on each end of the quilt to fit in the frame.

This was definitely a great buy for those of us who are on a low budget.

More Rust Dyes

The following rust dyed pieces were done on PFD fabric. I wrapped the cloth around old horse shoes. Then covered in vinegar and water and let set for a week. I also learned a very important lesson with this set. Never use an aluminum foil tray with this. We were gone for the week and when I came back my tub was coated in black sludge and rust because it had eaten through the pan.

Rust Dye Pictures

these first two scraps of fabric are from an old white sheet. They where soaked in vinegar and wrapped around a pole on the roof. Next I tea dyed them. After that I put them in a bag wrapped around some small poles and poured vinegar and water on them to soak. After two days I removed them and tea dyed them a second time.

Well, I have finally gotten cloth wrapped around my rusty horseshoes and soaking in water and vinegar. I did another cloth with lots of found objects. For my third experiment I soaked my cloth in vinegar and water and climbed out on the roof. I wrapped it around an old antenna poll and then squished the cloth together. Finally I wrapped a plastic garbage bag around it and tied it with string. We are going to begone several days, so they will have several days to set up. I can't wait to see them.

I wonder what my son will think when he sees the messy experiment in the bathtub and the bag wrap when he looks out the window. we will begone before he gets home.

Quilt Damage

We got back from our week of camping at the Cornerstone Music Festival.  I took along a quilt to do hand quilting on the 8 hour drive to and fro.   I carefully folded my quilt in the front of the van to keep it clean.   Sunday morning I went to get my new shoes out and the laces on one was shreded.  When I  put them back in the car I picked up my quilt.  Low and behold it had mouse droppings on it.  I opened it up and the back has about 6 by 8 inches of damage where the mouse chewed it.  (Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!) I knew I hated rodents.

Flynn Quilt Frame

I just got my flynn quilt frame and was really surprised at how great it handles.   I only put a small scrap piece in to try it out so I couldn't stretch the sides correctly.  The frame only allows about a 4 inch depth on my machine, but you can quilt from left to right over the entire quilt.  I love that it holds the backing rolled up as you need it.  No more wrinkles or caught pieces from trying to squeeze my quilt through my home machine.

Can't wait to try it on some of my quilt tops.



[caption id="attachment_504" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Trying my new frame"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_505" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="My first attempt"][/caption]

Rock On Challenge

I almost forgot, my "Rock On" challenge piece, "Chuck E's in Love" was published in the June/July 2009 issue of Quilting Arts magazine.

God's Grace

This is my unfinished quilt on God's Grace.  The stairs are white fabric that was painted increasingly darker.  Strips were pieced with a blue organza fabric over the stair fabric.  This would have been so much easier if I made a template or used freezer paper.  I just eyeballed it and if it didn't match my picture I unstitched and adjusted the angles.  Oh well, I learned my lesson.

Now, I just can't decide how to quilt it.

Horse Quilt

I took some pictures of a friends horse and then turned it black and white.  I drew it and simply numbered the color values 1-6.  Next I made 6 piles of brown fabrics for the 6 values and began to cut out all the shapes for this quilt.  I tried to turn under most of the shapes.  I think it looks like a paint by number.

Click thumbnails for close up of stitching.

Studio Mess

It took only a few days to completely trash my studio with new projects.
Horse Project 

Beach Quilt - tight squeeze

Design Wall overflow
My cutting table 
What a mess!