Monthly Archives: June 2014

Getting Rid of Those Unwanted Bumps

Lumps in the back tire

Lumps in the back tire

The recently finished Bike Boys crossed the finish line with some unwanted bumps and lumps. This was most prominent in the area around the bike tires.  Sewing in a circular motion, and some significant corrective stitching caused some stretching that made that part of the quilt pop up.  I needed a way to block the quilt.  Because of it’s size, roughly 4×6 feet, simply pressing it wasn’t sufficient.

Once again, it was an artist friend that came to the rescue.  Peggy, my dog sitter, and an accomplished  water color artist told me how she used to block her water color paintings.  She placed them face down on a piece of glass, sprayed the back with water, placed a second piece of glass over the top, weighted it down and waited for 2 or more weeks.

I was able to create a similar set up, large enough for my quilt, using a couple of large tables at the school where I teach.  Once school was out for the summer, I found an out of the way room with 2 large conference tables. I cleaned the tables thoroughly.  With a bit of help, I turned one table over and stacked it on the other with the quilt in between.  I did give the quilt a spritzing and a little extra moisture in the trouble spots, and walked away for 2 weeks.

I checked back in this week and, to my amazement, it worked!.  The piece will need to be handled with some care so as not to stretch it out of shape again.

Bike Boys

Bike Boys

 

In the future, I think I can repeat this process using the hardwood floor in my living room and a piece of Plexiglass.

Now, it’s time for me to go out for a run and try to get rid of some of my own unwanted lumps and bumps.

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Bike Boys Cross the Finish Line

Bike Boys

Finally, it’s done!  I finished the stitching and added a little extra to give context and a resting space.  I was a bit nervous about adding a neutral background around the Boys, but, in the end, felt that the panel was just too intense and needed some space for the eye to rest. I struggled with how much space to add.  If you add too much space, you lose  intensity.  However, I also know that if it isn’t enough, then the piece actually looks wimpy and weak.  I turned the original panel askew to keep the added space small but powerful.  I think that turning the boys uphill makes them stronger.  Imagine the same panel turned downhill–they would appear to be coasters.  This is better.

I shared the piece with some friends and colleagues.  What was most interesting to them was the historical context of the image.  The inspiration for this piece was a photo found in the archives of the History Colorado Museum in Denver.   The Fowler Sextuplet was the first bicycle built for 6.  It was brought to the Denver Cycle Show in 1896 to race against the Empire State Express.  I’ve spent a good bit of time researching, but can’t find any information as to who won the race.  I hope this doesn’t mean they all crashed and burned.

The Bike Boys paused for a photo that submits them to a fiber art competition in Houston.  Let’s keep our collective fingers crossed that they have a more notable finish in that competition.

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