"Bling" the Last Shoe

"Bling" is the fanciest shoe in my "Imelda's Dream" quilt. It is made from an antique piece of hand-beaded and sequined lace that was in my lace collection. I hesitated to cut that wonderful lace apart. However, it was unseen and unappreciated hidden away in a drawer.This quilt, "Imelda's Dream" is currently exhibited at MB Gallery in Chicago, Illinios.All photos are clickable for you to view a larger version in a separate window. Click the back arrow icon of your server to get back to this post.

Happy Birthday, Elvis

My husband was born the same year as Elvis. For years Lee has been "playing" with Elvis. Here are several of many pieces he's created to honor the "king".

"Elvis Galaxy" - 26"x18"

"The Book of Elvis"

Stacking Wood Dolls
portraying the stages of Elvis' life
(including embryonic Elvis)
Elvis lurks in the corner of my studio.

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"Kiss My Foot" Shoe - Constructing the Quilt

Every wardrobe needs a basic black shoe. This one is made from black silk shantung. The tulle is trimmed away so the texture of the silk is revealed. I couldn't resist the little kick of adding lips puckered for a kiss at the heel ... only to really be seen when she's walking away. The red Christian Louboutin shoe that had inspired me had a rosette under the heel that left an imprint behind. He called them his "follow me" shoes.
In a previous posting I explained how each block was constructed and quilted. To put the quilt together, a row of blocks was sewn together by butting the raw edges of two blocks and attaching one to the other with a wide zig-zag stitch. A narrow 1/2" flattened tube of fabric (seam pressed open on the under side) was machine appliqued on the back side to cover the zig-zag stitched seam. Then the sashing that represents the colored light framing the display was appliqued on the front of the quilt to hide the zig-zag seam as well as the two applique seams. A silver cord was couched at the edge of the sashings to give a highlight to the neon. After all the vertical rows of blocks were assembled, I sewed the sections together in the same way ... 1/2" sashing tube on the back, the neon light sashing on the front, and the silver cording couched to the edges.
This way of constructing completed (quilted) sections for a large quilt works well for me. I cannot imagine trying to free-motion quilt on a home sewing machine a piece that is this large (70"x70"). I had a difficult time getting the last two sections together. I even stated rather loudly at the time as I wrestled that bulk through the machine, "This is my LAST really big wall quilt!!!" Well, we'll see if I truly meant that down the road.

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Tessa Sews

Tessa, my youngest grandchild, is five years old. Her first sewing machine project was this quilt made last summer.
One of my Christmas presents to her was our designing and making this cotton knit nitegown with eyelet lace together. She had passed on the option of pajamas.Her brother and two boy cousins had learned how to sew on my machines a year before she did. They had mastered machine skills rather quickly (see "Kids Sewing" and "Kids Sewing II"). However, Tessa picked it up even more easily.Her brother, Winston, had set up his mother's Bernina for us and then helped with the sewing. French seams on those side seams proved to be a lot of sewing. Also, he was our photographer to record this project.
I'm heartened that all four of them like to "make stuff", but especially that I have a granddaughter with whom to share my skills and knowledge ... hopefully for many years to come.

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"I Do" Shoe - Making the Block

One pair of shoes had to be displayed in the box. Isn't there always a customer who helps herself and doesn't put them back? Also, I felt this large quilt (70"x70") required a visually disruptive element.
This pair of shoes began as a single shoe just like all the others. It was cut apart to look like a pair snuggled in tissue (actually china silk). The shoe fabric is an old machine-made lace dresser scarf ... making perfect footwear for a bride.
Each block began with the same background and "shelf" fabrics. They and the shoebox were placed in the same positions within each block. I used glue stick as well as temporary spray adhesive to keep them in place. Roving was thinly spead on the shelf to ceate a darker forground.In the finished quilt each shoe is showcased in its own lighted display cube. Oil stick pastels were used to give the initial effect of colored light on the background fabric. The shoe and "tissue" were adhered in place with temporary spray adhesive. A piece of tulle colored the same as the "light" for the cube was adhered with the temporary spray adhesive over the whole block. The shoe and box top are trapunto. A thin batting was placed under that area on the wrong side of the block. I then machine quilted around and within the shoe as well as the lines of the box top. The excess batting outside of the shoe and top of the box was trimmed away.
A heavier cotton batting and backing were layered with the trupunto quilted top. The background, foreground, box and outline of the shoe and lable were free-motion machine quilted.
More pastels were blended and rubbed into the background through the tulle. After each application, the pastels get set with heat. There were many applications ... even after all the blocks were sewn together ... a lot of rubbing and ironing with the tiny triangle iron right on the design wall. The rubbing cloths end up with interesting marks and areas of color. Those will be heat set for future projects.
The block is trimmed to size. Soon I'll post about the construction of the whole quilt.

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