You win some, you lose some

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Sometimes I get hare-brained ideas. The type that you have no idea if they will work out or not, but you can't stop thinking about it, so you have to just get started. This is one of those ideas.


Open hexweave greenery quilt


I've been wanting to try some open fabric weaving for quite awhile (and still have one large project using the method in my head!). I finally decided that the combination of the Pantone Quilt Challenge and "May I" off-season Project Quilting challenge was the right time to just jump right in and try something off-the-wall and new!

The Pantone color of the year is "Greenery," so I chose green fabric. (Yes, it's just a cheap, cheap fabric from Wal-Mart. It's an experiment. Why ruin the good stuff??)

Open hexweave greenery quilt with Wefty needle


When thinking about the "May I" challenge, I kept having the thought of telling the quilt police a crazy idea for a quilt and then asking for their permission to do it. Then laughing in their face as I did it anyways!

Open hexweave greenery quilt


Which led to me pursuing the idea of a woven quilt with literal negative space. Pushing the boundaries of "is that really a quilt?"

Open hexweave greenery quilt


Each strip is sewn as a tube, then batting is pulled through.

Open hexweave greenery quilt
I use a foam board to weave on, pinning each strip in place. But I also don't usually think too far ahead. So I hadn't really thought about how I was going to transfer the weaving from the board to the sewing machine.

Open hexweave greenery quilt


Once woven, I wanted to stitch 1/8" from each long edge of the strips to quilt it and keep it's shape.

Which led to lesson number one: pin or clip EVERY intersection. I only used clips on the ends to hold them in place when moving the weaving from the foam board to my sewing machine. I didn't really think through the fact that the center of the strips would shift. Drats.

Open hexweave greenery quilt


But I kept going.

After quilting, I trimmed the edges to eliminate the wonkiest parts and stitched double fold binding onto the edge just as I would a normal quilt.


Open hexweave greenery quilt 
Open hexweave greenery quilt

Which led to lesson number two: to secure binding to thin air, you have to stitch through both the top and bottom of the binding (not just stitch in the ditch like you can on a normal quilt).


Open hexweave greenery quilt


This lesson taught me that the back of the binding actually looks more consistent for this project. So next time, I'll stitch my binding onto the back and flip to the front.

Open hexweave greenery quilt


All in all, I'm calling this project a win. Although it's not square and it doesn't lay flat, I still love the idea. And this mini quilt proved that the concept is possible! Now I can't wait to try again!

33 comments:

  1. That. Is. So. Creative! Wow. It looks fabulous, and I've never seen anything like it before!

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  2. Way to go trying something brand new! I think it's absolutely beautiful, despite your hiccups!

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  3. Wow, beautiful and sounds very difficult. That shade of green is also very pretty.

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  4. Love it! (But I won't be making it, I'll just look at yours!)

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  5. Thanks for sharing your process, very clever! How did you ever get that batting in the tubes without it tearing?

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    1. I used a safety pin on a string to pull the strips of batting through! I used an 80/20 cotton batting, and it worked perfect! I didn't even consider that it might not work!

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  6. I am just as curious as Paige about how you pulled the batting through the tubes - that part seems daunting to me! The best projects are ones that you learn a lot from and leave you with more ideas. I look forward to seeing where the ideas lead you next. :)

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  7. What a clever idea! Glad you tried it so we all can see!

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  8. Wow!!! This is awesome. As I think about the Project Quilting rules, you did have to have batting, but wonder if your next open weave quilt will need it. I'm sure it felt like it was much larger than 18 x 18 when you working on it!!

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  9. I'm not going to try this but it is really a neat idea. I would suggest the next time you do something like this, before you move the weaving from your stryofoam board, you put a bit (well, more than a bit) of washable glue between the strips where they intersect and let it dry before moving. That should help some with the stability.

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  10. That's pretty creative Laura! I love projects that teach and this looks like one of those. Yay to you for trying your idea and for saying that you'll try it again! The weaving bug has bitten you! :)

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  11. I think you Won Some! Amazing!

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  12. I love hexagones! And I love your new creative way to sew them :)
    Beautiful work!
    Greetings from Poland
    Kamila

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  13. Gorgeous! What a cool experiment. I was kind of thrilling to see this effect with the sky and the trees. Sometimes its using the right stuff. I was at a lecture by Sue Bleiwieiss and she uses United NonWoven Wool Felt (stays flat). Might be useful in this technique (maybe available at Joanne's). This is a fun piece, even if not yet a perfect technique!

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  14. I've been intrigued by bias tape woven for some time...but seeing you push the boundaries of what is a quilt and use of "negative" space--I may have to bump it higher on my to do list!! Thanks for sharing your process!

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  15. This quilt cracked me up, in the BEST way -- the way that the edgiest modern art pieces in a gallery make me laugh by thumbing their noses at every snob who tries to define and limit what art can be. Super, SUPER cool. Have you named it yet? How about Quilted Lattice I (because I suspect you are already thinking about how you could kick it up a notch for Quilted Lattice II and Quilted Lattice III).

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  16. This is amazing -- never seen anything like it! Can't wait to see future versions.

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  17. Very cool idea! I think it's great and would work in a lot of decorative situations!

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  18. I think you can certainly laugh in the face of the quilt police with this one! It may not be exactly what you were aiming for, but I love it :)

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  19. This is a really clever idea and you did a great job in executing it!

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  20. Wow this is fabulous! I've wanted to make a woven quilt and this brings a completely new twist to it. I might try this idea when I have some time.

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  21. Wow! I love your work! What a delight. Very creative.

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  22. Wow that is awesome, I love love love it.

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  23. What a fantastic idea and follow through!! I love that you gave "lessons learned" in the story. Amazing creative process, kudos and hats off to you.

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  24. The pattern reminds me of the pattern in the cane weaving on my grandmother's bentwood rocker. I wish I knew the name of the weave. Your idea is brilliant. You can weave any pattern I would guess and use the completed quilt in a variety of ways. Love it!

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  25. What an ingenious idea. And seeing all the steps of the experimentation is enlightening. You are very clever. I dropped by from Whoop Whoop Friday. Nice to meet you.

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  26. Such an clever idea!! An amazing piece of work!

    -Soma

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  27. Alternate name "Cool Quilt"
    Because it certainly wouldn't be warm, would it?!! I'm loving your creativity.

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  28. I LOVE this, brilliant execution of a great concept!!!! It is so inspiring!!!!

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  29. It is crazy and wonderful and I love it - talk about pushing the boundaries!

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  30. AWESOMELY CREATIVE! Thank you for sharing!!

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  31. 2022 and it's still a great idea! Love that you are willing to step out of the box and try new things!

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