Friday, July 04, 2008

Happy Independence Day

Whee, look at my display for the 4th of July - I'm really happy with it - much better than last year's (see the post and learn more about the four quilts on the right side).


Several of these quilts are hung on mini 3M Command Hooks which work great. I also tried something new to cure the wobbles - I used hookless stickies on the bottom quilt corners. The little tabs are barely noticeable.

I have a bit of Christmas in July going on here. These gorgeous patriotic Santas were a gift from my sweet Dad. These are cypress knee carvings by Bill Evans, whom I adore and highly recommend. I now have three knees he carved and I love them all.

This is America with Flag. I hate naming quilts, just try to come up with something descriptive... I wrote about quilting the next two quilts in this post from last July.

Blue with Stars. Check out Kathie's quilt - we were both inspired by the same piece in Small Endearments but came out with different results.

Even though I finished the quilting on these two small quilts last year, I didn't get them bound and finished until this month. I'm lazy and I just hate that part.

I washed these two quilts and Liberty Blooms together. (I'd added more hand quilting to Blooms even though it was already bound and sleeved - just looked too barren and I hate underquilted quilts.) After a delicate cold bath in the washing machine and a short visit to the dryer, red had bled all over the stems in Blooms and some blue had bleed on America. That was even with Color Catchers tossed in.

So I put those two quilts in a big pot with several more Color Catchers and added hot tap water. I kept stirring so the quilts never just sat there. After quite a bit of dye released into the water I drained it out and added more hot water. I did that five times before the water was mostly clear. And that did the trick, the bleeding was out.

My sweetie and I celebrated with antipasti at our favorite Italian restaurant. Not quite hotdogs and potato chips, but it sure was yummy.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great tip about the colourcatchers. I have a big quilt in which the red bleeded over the white. Perhaps I'll try putting it in the bathtub with a whole package of colourcatchers!
Have a nice weekend!

Browndirtcottage said...

GREAT DISPLAY!!!!! LOVE THEM ALL!!!

Kristin L said...

I think it's a great display too. And what a good save on the flower quilt!

Valerie the Pumpkin Patch Quilter said...

Oh it all looks beautiful - I have been working on my first attempt at baptist fans and was so proud...until I saw how gorgeous yours look! Well, I guess now I have a goal to strive for! :) Love your blog and Happy 4th! :)

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

I love your display, including the patriotic Santas.

antique quilter said...

great wall of quilts!
OH I love the America quilt and the one that has the red and white squares in the center, I just may have to make that one too!
My flag quilt is one of my favorite quilts I have made. It is because I love the hand quilting on it so much I think :) and its inspired by our flag!
Kathie

Quiltdivajulie said...

Happy Fourth - what a GREAT red-white-blue post!!

Funny - I just posted about how much I like the binding process and here you write about how you put it off... ahh, the joys of individuality!

LOVE the santas!

Kristin Shields said...

Everything looks great! I love the Santas. I will have to get one of those this year. Also, a great save with the color catchers. Hope you had a great day!

loulee said...

Very red white and blue. Wonderful display and topped off beautifully by the Santas.

Julie said...

Great display! It makes me want to create some small wallhangings for next year.

Cher said...

sweet little quilts-and a lesson on how to save them too.

Unknown said...

Your quilts are so cool and unique. Such a balance to the completely controlled and perfect side of things (which I tend to lean towards). I did create recently a country quilt with free form trees and stars surrounded by wonky log cabin squares that I really love, but don't have one for myself b/c I sold 3 of them! Guess that's a good thing!! Thanks for representing the other end of the spectrun in quilting. I greatly appreciate it (and you!)

Diane said...

What fabulous quilting on "America." Happy Fourth!

Anonymous said...

My two little patriotic quilts look so meager compared to your glorious display...I'll have to get busy to add to my wall. Thank you for the incentive and the color catcher tip. Good info!! Question: how large are the letters (America)? Also, did you applique the stars or fuse them?
Thanks for your wonderful blog.

Maureen and P.D. the Pet Dog said...

Happy 4th Ton! Love your display, and always love the links your provide. Thanks for the tip about the color bleeding. Your dinner sounds delicious. Yum.

Lynda said...

Do you prewash your fabric? I always toss it in the washing machine with an appropriate wash (or wash in the sink if I'm desperate to use it!) when I bring it in the house. I'm not a big quilt washer, but haven't had any bleeding accidents so far.

Diane said...

Love your display of quilts!

Chocolate Cat said...

Love your patriotic santas!

Unknown said...

I love the lettering on the America with Flag quilt.

quiltingnana said...

your red white and blue quilts are great. I was thinking about using those 3M hangers..glad to hear that they work

black bear cabin said...

what an absolutely gorgeous display of quilts! i just love seeing your work! thanks for the tip about removing the dyes too...did you wash the fabrics before you sewed them and they still bled? just wondering :)
cheers~
(and happy 4th, a little late)
lisajo