Busy Mat

Usually touch quilts made here are about 36 x 36" so they can be used for both activity and light cover.

The activity director at our local nursing home wanted to know about using buttons and zippers for restorative therapy. I made a trial mat using a fabric place mat that could be placed on a table or a geriatric chair tray.

 

A length of Velcro to open and close a tab

 

A button feature with large buttons

 

Zipper feature reveals a pocket.

Ribbons make it easier to grip.

The one I used this week has rattail cord.

After vowing not to buy anything else, I could not pass up 

this beautiful ribbon with butterflies solely for decoration. 

Auditions Today

I am auditioning quilt blocks, ribbons, scraps and pieces of brocade material for touch quilts today.

 

One of the late Rachel Johnson's hand appliqued butterflies.

 Earlier this morning it was shocking to read that Fidget Quilts should not be pretty --I'd noticed that they often are not-- because it makes them tempting to theft from facilities where they're donated.

To make my quilts less attractive for larceny, I started machine embroidering the initials of the facility in 2" letters along the front edge through all layers. One would have to be really adept with a seam ripper to take out 3 layers of close zigzag without destroying the quilt. So sad it's necessary.

 

I think of my Touch Quilts as art. Maybe it isn't fine art, but I want them to look pleasing to the eye, so I have try-outs for fabric combos, complimentary colors, and ribbon trims.

 

Cabbage roses from this strip of upholstery

fabric can be turned in trapunto-style roses

with great touchable texture.

 

The orange color in the upper wing of this 

butterfly compliments some other pieces I may use.

 

A closer look. Note the fine hand stitching.  

I may zigzag over the stitching with monofilament 

thread to insure the vintage stitches stay in place.

While I'm auditioning colors and textures, I am also reviewing which trinkets and trims were successful in previous quilts. From left: 1) couched heavy knitting yarn, 2) crochet thread wound on a bobbin and machine stitched using a fancy stitch from the reverse side, and 3)lighter weight yarn, couched.  At the top are reverse applique 'fish' in different textures with ribbon trims.

The machine bobbin work is pleasing to the eye, but the touch factor is not nearly as good as the softness of couched yarn. 

Ruching

Despite all the ribbons I have for trim, there are few that are wide enough for wide ruching. I experimented with fabric strips. I am delighted with the results.

 This first strip of ruffling is a happy accident. I used a strip from a print that looks like pieces of seamed material, some print, some plaid, some plain. I seamed a folded piece that had a green print next to a solid blue. I meant to use the print below. When I turned it over, it is a solid with a print edge.

 The solid dark blue on the reverse was narrower than the print and does not show.

This is a wide piece, too wide for the project with the yellow umbrella applique but a nice ruffle. 

The same fabric as above but a narrower piece, which I liked better.

 This ruching strip is a piece of wired ribbon that I removed the thin wire. Without the wire it's still stiff ribbon and did not turn out as pretty as I'd hoped. Ruching works best with ribbon or fabric that is soft.

There's nothing difficult in making ruching. a gathering thread that goes from one edge to the other like this: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ is pulled up until scallops form. Tie off the gathering thread. Pretty ribbons ruch well. Fabric strips with the raw edges turned in or seamed into a tube and turned make great ribbon-like pieces.

There are ruching videos and tutorials on the internet made by professional art quilters and fiber artists.

Embellishments

The original notion to start making Touch Quilts was to use up fabric and trims that were stashed away starting years ago. All kinds of projects were begun, like doll dressing and Christmas ornaments, then abandoned or completed and the leftover materials tucked into drawers and cupboards.

Today I read a challenge: Use what I have or can find at no cost. This vow I am taking after I ordered off to two different vendors for fleece and other fabric, ribbons and Velcro at the end of 2015.

Those orders were not as pricey as they could have been because of coupons and deals like free shipping over a set amount. I made myself a promise to try to use up everything before I order off again.

I guess I'll have to set myself a tiny limit at local vendors. "I can spend $4.00 and tax," usually does it for me at the dollar store. "I can buy 2 yards of  flannel," might work for a store where there is fabric.  A yard of velveteen or fake fur would make my heart glad when I'm putting together a touch quilt that needs more texture.

I have a Hancock's card worth $10.00 that I could use in a store when we go to the city if I reach a point where I just must buy something.

The best embellishments of course use buttons and/or beads. Touch Quilts need to be safe, so those are tucked away for yet another project.

I have a stash of ribbons from projects but they are mostly narrow. Narrow ribbons make nice flower stems couched with machine stitches. I think I can make some other trims by sewing them in groups. Every time I look at them I see a color that I am lacking, like yellow.

 There is no end to the embellishments that can be made with nothing but fabric and thread when making quilt blocks that need something of interest to the fingers as well as to the eyes.Tucks and gathers can be made in all widths and numbers, for a start. One of my favorites is Prairie Points. There are other shapes of folded fabric that work well for making flowers and other decor.

There's a little basket of acrylic paints that I bought at a yard sale on the way home from Blakely once. Researching painted fabric revealed that I could use those paints and further research told me that I have household chemicals that will render them even more useful. There's even mostly the colors I need for a project that I have in mind to try.

Interesting to me is that many of the best art quilters know how to use what they have and share generously their expertise. Separating the true experts from those who have something to sell and push products has been most revealing.

It's like finding the golden egg at an Easter hunt to find a short tutorial on a blog where the author says, "This is from my class on..." coming from someone whose classes are at the other side of the country and I am not likely to go to class. Wouldn't it be wonderful to live close to one of those places?