Fabric Constructions

I have a help request, I received this quilt back from a quilt show that will remain nameless.  It did not survive their packing, it was not the fault of the shipping company.

The quilt top needs to be redone to send to two more shows.  This was created by layering fabric, batting, fabric and wire mesh fabric.  The wire mesh fabric is what is causing me trouble, it is finer than window screening and the more it is handled and stitched through the more is cracks and splits.  Originally I faced the quilt and when I received it back from the 1st show it went to the outside edges were starting to split, along with winning the grand prize!  I repaired it by covering the outside edges with more mesh folded over to encase them.

I apologize for the pictures they were taken with my phone.  Does anyone have any ideas how to go about fixing this?  I figured my best approach was to begin dismantling the quilt.  I have taken off the mesh edges already and started removing the facing.

 

Next the label and hanging sleeve then the front for the flower form, beads and buttons.  Then the stitching holding the mesh.  I do want to put the mesh back on, after all this was what was juried into the show in the first place.  I just don’t know how to treat the edge.  I like the look of the quilt without having a border around the quilt.  Is there anything to dip or cover the mesh in?  Something that has the opacity and shine of the metal that is not metal?  The mesh edges do not work well being place on top and left alone, they would snag on everything.  A dense zig zag or serged edge would become brittle and break off.  I know I need to use a longer stitch length and not put as much quilting back on.

When this is eventually sent off again I will make sure I take photos of the packing and attach them in more than one place.  Last time I only wrote out the instructions, obviously did not work very well.

So does anybody have any suggestions?  Thank you for the help!  I apologize for the spacing on everything, I will eventually figure this out.

Diane

I got the email earlier, I was juried into the 28th annual Michigan Fine Arts Competition.  The show will be at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center from April 2 – May 7, 2010.

Have you seen any of these pictures before?  This quilt has been rejected from two (2) quilt shows, this is the first time I tried entering it into a multimedia show.  I thought the definition of a quilt is 3 layers stitched through.  The Big Bang meets the definition but its primary background fabric is wire mesh.  The quilt could be fragile to ship, I’m glad I only have to drive it a mile up the road and not worry about packing, etc.

I received Vertigo back from Quilts, Inc. in Houston and it arrived damaged.  They did not pack it very wel and it had large holes over the entire thing.  I need to replace the entire top, not a job I am looking forward to.

I had a lot of fun taping for Quilting Arts TV on Thursday, season six of Quilting Arts TV.  What a whirlwind past couple of months.  After receiving an email from Kathie Stull (Executive Producer of Quilting Arts TV) the end of December which I thought was sent to the wrong email.  I can’t tell you how many times I reread it thinging she had the wrong person.  Then waiting on pins and needles until I heard from Pokey.  Until I wrapped my head around what was involved, the whole experience was wonderful and I made many new friends.  I need to thank Brian (who I met this past fall at the Novi sewing expo) for sending some of my photographs to Pokey.

Ralph (my husband) and I drove to Cleveland on Wednesday afternoon, a totally uneventful trip.  We arrived at Beachwood Studios later in the afternoon to unload the car.

I arrived at the studio at 8 am for makeup, time to glam up!  Pokey was filming her opening segments and running in and out to change clothes.  It gave all of us other “artists” time to get acquainted.  Helen Gregory from Quilting Arts was there somewhere also but somehow did not make it into the photograph.

Jeanne Cook-Delpit from Bernina was wonderful helping to familiarize me with the Bernina 830, what a machine.  It makes attaching the pin findings onto fabric a breeze.  Thanks Jeanne for figuring this out.  Jen O’Brien was wonderful explaining the different spray and fix product J.T. Trading carries and how they work.  I am definitely calling my local quilt store and sharing the information.  Jeanie of  Kaleidescope Kreator has some wonderful projects, her software is intriguing.  What a wonderful way of looking at your photos.  I loved Andrea Bishop of Electric Quilt’s creative use of fabric – I am not sure if she lets the audience know where her fabric came from after the local fabric stores closed on air.   I believe I was the only person filming one segment, you need to watch for everyone.

I can say the day was a blur, I was the first to film and I am not even sure when we did that.  I had all of my step outs set up to bring in the studio.

Kathie helps whittle it down in the studio once we discuss the segment.  Katherine Lamancusa, Kathie’s assistant was great answering questions and helping everyone out.  She helped arrange everything in the studio also.  Taping went very quickly for a seven to nine minute segment.  It did not feel like we were in there that long.

After filming we went upstairs to lunch in a nice bright greenhouse space.

After lunch Helen, Ralph and I found an empty room where we set up some of my work to discuss.  Helen did a very good job of videotaping and talking at the same time!  Ralph hung some of my work while we started to talk, it was awesome seeing everything in one place.  A first for me.  Look for this on the Quitling Arts website somewhere sometime soon.

Watch for episode is 607, it should be airing sometime this summer in June or July.  Check your local pbs station listings to find air times.  You can also check http://www.tracmedia.com/LOL/quiltingArts/.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and want to give Ralph a great big thank you, wouldn’t have made it through without you!  Now to finish up my article for the magazine.

The Art 2010 show is opening at the Nathan D. Rosen Museum Gallery in Boca Raton today.  The opening reception is from 3 – 5 pm and the show runs through April 9.  Wish I could be there although the weather has warmed up considerably there is still snow on the ground.  My piece “Cacaphony” is being displayed in the show. 

This is not to be confused with the 2 pieces I have in the Cacaphony of Fiber show I have opening tomorrow in Daytona Beach!

I have 2 quilts in the Cacaphony of Fiber exhibition March 4 – April 31, 2010, in the Rose Room Gallery, Peabody Auditorium, in Daytona Beach, Florida, Leaf Transformation and Green Leaf .  Mary McBride of Deland, Florida curated the exhibition.  One hundred works were submitted by 26 artists, 28 pieces were selected to be included. An Artist’s reception will be held March 6, 201 from 6:00 to 7:15 pm.  On March 20th Pamela Allen  will discuss the featured artwork from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.