Ramshackle Tower finish!

So today I got on with the finishing of the Ramshackle Tower.

I quilted the sky by using a twin needle to draw 'night breezes' across the sky.

detail

I had found, as with the crayons, that I didn't have enough of the right kind of brown to be the binding. I even auditioned a different colourway of the print I used for the tower. I had a dark brown print. But it seemed to take away the focus on the tower.
And then when I was getting design advice from my friend Pat, we decided the back of the print would work.

So, this afternoon I was carefully cutting and sewing binding. and then had started stitching it on. I like to try to get the leading edge to line up with something happening at the bottom centre of a piece if I can. Then when I get round to the finish, it makes a nice join that kind of blends with the path or whatever it might be.
So, I carefully lined it up and sewed to the corner. (I thought I had photos of this part.) just as I was about to make the mitred corner...I realised the print was on the outside.
hmmm.

So, back to the unpicker and resewing the joining seams on the binding.

double binding first pass sewn.
When this is turned to the backside, the join will be directly under the right side of the path.

and the rest was pretty easy. Until...

I set up a photo shoot in a different location - over the door - because this is much longer than most of my pieces and I needed a clear sight for the length of it. Hoping no one would come in. I got to the point where I was sorting the photo to get ready to submit it and I spotted a problem.

Do you see? I never did get that trunk on the tree!

So, I deleted the photos, put a trunk on - fused and stitched, coloured it in with the raw umber and got back to photographs. This time set up on my tall mirrored wardrobe so I didn't have to worry about 2 men and a dog coming to see if I was doing anything about dinner!

And the result you see at the top of this post.

Ramshackle Tower quilting

Today I have been quilting the tower. I still need to do the dark sky.

I really like how the horizontal quilting has given texture and 'reality' to the structure.

More on the Ramshackle Tower

So, I was thinking, that since the tower is now in darkness, that the ground should be a bit darker. So, why not try the crayon trick that worked for the bigger piece?

Do you realise that it is Very hard to find a Very Dark brown crayon? Or at least the ones I can find are all a bit red. Except raw umber.

So I tried it out. not too bad, though on this piece it seems a bit green.

And I carried on and did the big bush and the tree. and wished I hadn't because it is too much like colouring in. I can make this work. But this has answered the question about using colours.

The windows are cut in the extra arms.

Now I am trying to find the right brown which is not reddish and which will make a go-between for the dark brown background and the raw umber colouring! and of which I have enough for binding. and not ordering any online in case money is spent on 'not quite right'.

I may do a test to see what happens when I take the iron to the coloured in bits.(with paper over it to soak up the wax) Just in case I can knock back the greenish brown.

Re-engineering something you already did is not the 'funnest' thing in the world.

But I am on pause til next week because I am giving a talk to a group tomorrow.

Ramshackle redo progress

I mentioned the other day that I am redoing a Ramshackled piece.

I have added a few more arms. Up and down pinning and checking placement.

Now I need to add windows to the arms. and a trunk for the floating tree!

Margaret Cooter made a suggestion the other day about the windows. I didn't want to start implying the actual people living inside. I am trying to have the houses in the Ramshackle series be the ones with the character. But I did realise the windows were a bit too big and open.

So, I have added shade-like bits at the tops of the windows, which I think fills the need that was lacking. The additions are all still held in place by pins, so when you have a look, keep that in mind.

Redoing a Ramshackle piece

A while ago I tried out an idea from my sketchbook for a ramshackle tower.

I was not very happy with it, compounded by the fact I hadn't enough of the brown fabric layer to do a dark binding like I normally do. and only just enough to cobble together enough of the print fabric to make a binding with a flat piping of the brown.
And then all that kerfuffle meant I ran out of time for any major quilting, so I just went round all the edges of things.

So, the piece went off to a competition, and of course didn't rate too highly there. So, it has been 'in the naughty corner' hanging behind something that did work and something that I am part done with but is still in the 'thinking about it before I commit fully' stage.

And now a call for entry has come up called Structures. The size they want is the exact size this is!

In the meantime, I came across the in-progress photos I took at the time and realised this stage was a good one.

I haven't done a night time version of a Ramshackled!

So, the past several days I have been unpicking.

and unpicking and so on.

I am glad I didn't have more quilting to unpick. My eyes have gone a bit fuzzy trying to see the small machine stitches!

I finally have it back to that point and am looking at it while I consider whether it wants a few more arms or something.
I will have to work out the chimneys and the wind/clouds, too. But if it is going to be night time maybe crayons will come into it for darkening the front garden and tree a bit.

Watch this space.