Saturday, October 10, 2015

Selvedge Quilt Continues

I made twenty Brock House units before putting them together. My only requirements for sewing two units together were equal lengths and that they not have the same center solid. Sometimes they matched almost perfectly in length and curvature.

Two selvedge blocks ready to sew together.
Same length and curvature.

Others just needed a trim.
Two selvedge blocks.
On the left: same length, need trimming.
On the right: trimmed.

It got a bit harder after that. The well-behaved pairs matched each other again although the length might be off. In the set below, I added another string to the top right side to get them to match.
Left photo: the top right section bows in.  
Right photo: yellow string added to equalize the lengths.

Other times, they curved away from each other. Fixing that was a choice between adding some strings or trimming the curves. When trimming, I overlaid the two units and cut between them so they would lay flat after sewing. There's a more detailed explanation in this post.

I sewed two sets of four and two sets of six then sewed those together. Again I added a selvedge or trimmed as seemed best.

Things went very well until the last seam. Here's a mistake. I added long selvedge strips to both sides rather than trimming one side.  The selvedges point in opposite directions so even with a variety of selvedge strings this seam is more visible.

On the design wall it was obvious a long selvedge joined every large section together. If I had trimmed both sides, the vertical and horizontal rectangles would have butted against each other in a more natural fashion and better disguised this seam. I may take these out and redo them...

Brock House Selvedge quilt center

Here's a detail of the final seam.

Final seam detail.
All the selvedges point in opposite directions.

Did you notice that the solid selvedges are included in these strings? I was afraid the quilt would be too bland. The solids had really long fringe on the edges, so I sewed them about an eighth-inch inside the woven area. Perhaps you can see it in the photo below. I used white thread for all this sewing since many of the selvedges have a white edge.

As luck would have it, two solids formed a T which you can see in the photo on the left. Like an itch you can't scratch, it bothered me until I inserted a second string to separate them.
Selvedge quilt detail:  before and after
inserting a second string between two solid strings.

One of the best effects of blogging is that it forces me to slow down. Stopping to look at the photos helps me see problems that aren't as apparent while I'm sewing. Perhaps they aren't a mistake to anyone else but it's better to decide now if it will continue to bother me. And what am I going to do when I finish this quilt? Start another. Might as well get this one to my satisfaction.

Previous posts Improvising a Traditional Block and Selvedge Race quilt.

Enjoy the day, Ann

24 comments:

LA Paylor said...

it is very cool. The introduction of the center solid gives your eye a chance to rest and make order of it. Funny the details you see up close would never be noticed from a few feet away by someone who didn't make it. It's when you're making it you notice these things and can't stop looking. very strong lines here LEeAnna

Stephie said...

I love the way this is developing Ann, the concentric selvedge around the solid block makes such a strong 3D effect. It feels like you're looking down into a 'void'. Thank you for sharing your process, it's really interesting to see what you notice and want to 'rethink'.

audrey said...

I had to laugh at your last couple sentences. So very true. Might as well get this one right because what are we going to do next? Start another of course.:) It's been great to follow along with your progress and thinking about this particular quilt!

Janie said...

You are having fun, I love the process, thanks for sharing. I think it's good that you have an idea or theme in mind, that makes a composition 'read' so much better.

Ann said...

Thanks, LeeAnna. I like the solid centers, too. Making them is different than just looking at them, isn't it? Even when we look and get ideas, the actual making is a completely different process. The selvedges are working much better than I expected.

Ann said...

Oh, I see the 3D effect now. Funny, I never noticed it before. I'm so enjoying your color series.

Ann said...

We are two of a kind in that respect, Audrey. I'm amazed how you constantly pull another top out of the pile.

Ann said...

Thanks, Janie. I'm slowly working towards making different units and then combining them.

Linda said...

This looks like great fun. I like the solid centers. I am working really hard at learning not to take things apart and redo when it is an experiment and enjoy the process and end result for what it is. Love the way it has come together. Would not have expected this from seeing the smaller pieces as you put each block together.

Lynnwa said...

I hadn't noticed the longer selvage pieces or the T you mentioned untill you said it, so I think we all see things differently especially when we are the one making it. Others don't see the same problems or problems at all in your art. I think it looks great and is very pleasing to the eye. Loved to see the making of the selvage projects.

Ann said...

It has been fun, Linda, and the solid centers add the right amount of color. I haven't redone any of this but these final seams are bothering me. The added strips make this more improv than using the blocks alone but the last one is off. I'm going to take it out, put it back on the design wall to ponder for a while.

Ann said...

It's funny what we notice when we're the maker. I might not have noticed in someone else's quilt but now that I have... It took a while to figure out what looked "wrong." This is my first selvedge project; it's been quite an experience. And there are more selvedges.

Kaja said...

I think I might quite like that seam that is bothering you! I definitely like the way the strips work en masse with just the solid centres and occasional solid coloured selvedge to break things up. I find blogging helpful for making me stop and think as I go along too.

Ann said...

That's life; everyone's view is different. For a change, I have it on my design wall. Still mixed feelings but I'm not taking all the long seams out. Still plan to remove one from that final seam.
Like you, I'm surprised how differently the strips look en masse that they did individually or even as the sheet. The top is more subtle than most of mine. I like the little pops of color, too.

Cathy said...

I like it...real "cutting edge" stuff!! I like how you salvaged those selvages. Kind of edgy... [insert groan here]

I wouldn't have changed anything around because I rarely look at quilts on walls so nothing much bothers me enough to change anything after blocks are put together.

But, FYI...My eyes went immediately to that /\/\/\/\/\ "diamond eye" selvage in the whole picture and then what looks like one long selvage above it and then to what was above that line and so I kind of missed that T section you were bothered about.

Yes...uh huh, uh huh, I like it.

Ann said...

Ok, I'm groaning. You are too funny. The diamond eye selvedge is neat. I'll use it somewhere else but it's out of this quilt. I'm a bit surprised how "beige" my selvedges are. But I just took them as they came, didn't try to pull the prettiest first.

grapes and hearts said...

Wow! Love your selvedge quilt! I save mine but never made a quilt out of it. Seeing yours makes me want to start my own!
Thank you for sharing your quilt and your idea of those solid centres.

Ann said...

I've mindlessly saved them in a drawer for a couple of years. Everything else is out (visible.) These were hidden away so I rarely thought of them. Way too many; had to get busy. It's actually very fun. I look forward to seeing yours.

Nicky said...

Like your methodology! This will be a fun quilt and a great reminder of other projects. Thanks for linking up to #scraptastictuesday

Ann said...

Thanks for running Scraptastic Tuesday. t's always fun to see what great scrap ideas everyone has.
And thanks for your advice about setting up a link up. I

Mel said...

I love the solid center squares--great design! Fantastic!

Lara B. said...

This happens to me frequently too Ann - I'll not realize something isn't working until I look at photos. Another thing I like to do is look at the work on the design wall in very early morning light. That really shows the balance of values throughout the quilt. I would have broken the T too. This is turning out to be so fabulous!

Ann said...

Thanks, Mel. Such a compliment from you - your designs are fabulous. I love what you create.

Ann said...

I thought I looked at the photos but now realize I only look closely after posting. The early morning light is a great suggestion. I tried it this morning; what a difference!
It's funny how a small thing can bug us. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, " A half inch of the end of your skirt or the end of your nose makes a large difference"