Fandance/Windmills of your mind

Fandance is coming along very nicely. I am surprised how quickly the hand sewing progresses!
Once the 5 blades are machine stitched together, it only takes a good half hour to hand stitch the blades and the centre to the background.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy fondling fabric! I cannot quite see me fondling pencils, paper and tubes of paint!

I am committed to do a piece for our local "Musical Gems" exhibition in March, which is to be textile based mixed media. I will probably do "Windmills of you mind" did I mention that before?
I wonder if I could do a large spiral as a base to attach the other elements too. Not a spiral stitched to a background, but a spiral being the background, in other words, what you see when it hangs,  is the wall behind it. Nice if the wall is smooth, not so nice with the tongue-and-groove at the exhibition venue. :(
Fabric Spiral attached to canvas?
By the time I decide I'll have to work full time on it to get it finished before the deadline!

Quick and easy pointed fan blade

Here is a quick and easy way to make the points for the blades.
Blade template has to have a straight top.
Fold in half lengthwise, right sides together. Press.
Stitch the top as per sample.
Turn right side out. Push the point out. Use the pressed centre line to make sure the points is in the centre.
Press.

You can now stitch blades together. I don't know about you, I avoid needle turn applique like the plague, but this type of applique I can handle!

What is this?

When you use Fan blocks that you intend to rotate,the blades of one block can meet the quarter circle seam.

I made a trial block and found that didn't happen, it was maybe 1/8"  out.

That, to me, is a problem, because as the blocks were joined, they would look like I was a sloppy quilter who just couldn't be bothered to have those points meet.

The solution is to redesign the block so that the points are offset, rather than meeting. 

Here is how that would look.

I've taught classes where this "not meeting" really bothered some of the students and of course, if that's you, this method wouldn't suit you. However, I like the fact that I don't have so many points to meet when joining the blocks. 

Revision of quilt and centres

This is Fandance2. Keep in mind this will be a scrap quilt, so the fabrics used aren't final. Size 86" x 98"

Centre has  10 x 12 blocks. I have cut the 600 fan blades, I've cut 114/120 backgrounds, I'll finish them today.

I also developed a better way to do the centres, which are going to be larger than on the quilt.

I made a 4.5" plastic template, marked and cut the fabric. I ran a small running stitch along the edge, left thread ends long enough to pull up.
Placed fabric right side down on the  4" cardboard template. Pulled the stitching tight. Pressed carefully, using a bit of spray starch, let cool and cut into 4 pieces. Voila!
At this stage, I am concentrating on the centre 10x12 blocks only. Who knows how the rest of the quilt will develop!!

Still more about EQ6 and wondering about the centre of the block

This morning I opened EQ6. Nothing in the Fandance project. NOTHING!!
How could that have happened?? I knew I had saved, saved, saved.
Rather than bothering Penny again, I went online to the FAQ and there was the answer:

I named a project, added things to my Sketchbook, and exited. But when I opened the project again it was empty. Why?
You may have over-written your full project with an empty project of the same name. So be sure, when you want to open a project you have saved, that you click the "Open an Existing Project" tab, and choose your project from the list, rather than typing a name in the "Name a New Project" tab.

If you type the name of a project, and already have a project with this same name, your new project (empty), will replace your existing project (full).

OK.....
Lucky I had saved the image of the quilt as a gif file and didn't really need anything else.

I've made a few fan blocks and have started adding the quarter circle. Tried a few different sizes and also considered how best to get the smooth curved applique.
When I do a full circle, I make 2 templates. A plastic template of the circle plus the seam allowance. I used that to mark and cut the patches.
Then I have a  cardboard template of the circle's finished size. I stitch a running stitch along the edge of the circle, place the cardboard in the centre on the wrong side of the fabric, pull the stitching tight over the carboard template and press. After it cools off, I take the cardboard out and give the circle another good press. Voila, nice, neat easy circle.
That doesn't work so well with a quarter circle.
What is working reasonably well is this:
Make 2 templates: one of the quarter circle plus seam allowances, another on where the seam allowance is cut off the curved edge.
I cut 2 patches from the big template: one of the fabric, one of some fine white lawn.
With the smaller template, I mark the sewing line of the curved edge only on one of the 2 fabrics.
I stitch the 2 fabrics together with a very small running stitch.
Turn the fabrics, cut some of the excess white lawn off and applique stitch the curved edge over the fan blades.
The straight edges are lined up with the raw edges of the block and I baste them together.
This really seems to take longer to write it all down than it is to stitch.

Here is Fandance!

OK, this is a VERY ambitious project, because it has 14 x 14 blocks and is 100"x 100"
I may well still make changes because if I make it as a large quilt for my own bed, it needs to be rectangular rather than square.
Anyway, I got fantastic support from Penny at EQ6, especially when you consider this was in the silly season, between Christmas and NewYear.
The problem lies with a another program interfering with EQ6 and one day, when I need a challenge, I'll sort it out. Meanwhile, I can use it the way it is and of course, I mustn't forget to SAVE!
So far I cut about 100 6.5" background blocks for the centre and hundreds of fan blades.
I don't care how long this takes. It is like a hexagon quilt, once everything is cut, I'll just work on it when I feel like it.

How my stash is organised, more about EQ6

My stash is in plastic boxes that are on shelves in a cupboard. Queensland is not a climate for leaving fabrics on open shelves because of the fading. Besides, I am not tidy enough for that.
These are the boxes:

• White to Black
• Cream to Brown
• Red
• Yellow and Orange
• Green and Aqua
• Purple
• Blue

As every fabriholic knows, some fabrics don't fit into a colour category because they have multiple colours. They are sorted by value in the following boxes

• Multi light
• Multi medium
• Multi dark
• Multi bright

Then there are 2 more boxes with theme fabrics

• I spy and other children's fabrics
• Butterfly, ethnic, sewing designs

And about EQ6: I still have problems opening the program, the opening window comes up, then disappears behind the design window and the program then freezes, so later on I'll re install. Even this can be a problem,  because I think you can reinstall the program only so many times, something many users have complained about.

But.....I realised also that placing designs into the sketchbook, does NOT save them automatically, so, all that work is gone, about 14 different versions of Dancing Fans and I am still very happy that the important parts were printed out.

Dancing Fans...back to my first love

In art/craft that is!
For a while I have been thinking it is time to start another patchwork project. Throughout this year I've made 3 major projects: Bernina Bling and 2 children's quilts, so I didn't abandon quilting altogether. This remark in response to what I get asked every so often: " Don't you quilt anymore?"
Back to the new project. I set up the following checklist for this new project:

1. This is a bed quilt: so it has to be big enough and fabrics and techniques used have to be appropriate, iow, the quilt is to be washable.
   
2. No new fabrics to buy, but I am sure I have to buy wadding.
3. Not too complex. 
4. Not boring in either technique or design
5. Some handwork. We finally solved the problem of lighting in our lounge and I can now stitch while watching TV.

While two days ago I was wondering if I could legally sell EQ6 , yesterday morning I used it to design this new quilt. Dancing Fans is the working title, I may change it yet. However, after having problems opening the program, my project is there but there is nothing in the sketchbook!!! Shock Horror!! Fortunately, the only things I really needed: the template and the layout, I had printed out. I'll have to try to reinstall and if that doesn't work, get to support.

But this is what it is:
A Fan block with 5 blades. The blades are appliqued onto a 6" background.
I am using stash fabrics.
I considered a few different options such as a colour wash quilt , but that would make it too complex.
I made one test block 

The plan is to cut the background fabrics from medium dark-dark fabrics.

Blades from fabrics in my "multi light" box

Applique a quarter circle over the end of the fan blades in the lower left corner.