You my dear are one brave soul! Just look at how those foundation strips of the sky catch the light around the arc. And look at the movement in those watery triangles. And of course the arc held together with French knots. You must be pleased and your little group of stitchers will be so proud.
Oh this is fabulous!! I always found that the washing made a special difference all on its own to add to the finishing when I was weaving.. it turned it from cloth into finished sensuous textile. Love it on the line.
I just ached to see it in reality and my hands just want to touch it! It is so beautiful, even on the pics I just have to look and look and look...! :)
And I don't think I would have been as brave as you to wash it this way ^^
Looks like it worked beautifully! I'm right in the middle of a course on Textile Conservation, and I learned a tip just yesterday that I thought was brilliant, logical and I can't figure out why it never occurred to me... I thought I would pass it on for next time.
Put the quilt in the machine - a top loader - fill it and let it soak - no agitation; then put it delicate spin to extract the water. Go figure! Evidently it's the agitation that is the hardest thing on quilts - especially old ones. I also asked about front loaders, but the recommendation was for the above method.
There are other issues about drying - line versus flat, etc. but that would be too long a post.
I wash my quilts as Micaela indicates - put them in the washer and fill it up with water and mild soap. Hand swish it a bit just to mix everything. Let soak, spin, refill to rinse and spin out again, dry flat. Works great and is so much easier on washer and washed than lifting sopping wet mass.
Forgot to say the other day that I like the nod to your Finnish heritage by using marimeko fabric on the back. Was this ordered on line somewhere? I saw a shop in Seattle, but it was quite expensive.
@ helen. you can find pieces online...lots on ebay, where people have used it to decorate by stapling it to canvas...they remove and sell with some regularity. it's a lot like most decorator fabric and very hard to needle if you're quilting the old school way.
Thank you for the advice and encouragement, everyone.
Michela and Mary Beth...yes. Drying flat . Of course.
I mentioned to Ned that we needed more floor space or something and he is going to come up with a drying rack for me that can go onto the quilt frame. This will be fantastic as then I can also block the work so its square while drying.
Making such large pieces - this piece is 90" square, the next one is 100" square...make it difficult to find empty floor space that is clean enough.
My delicate cycle soaks the items and agitates gently. I think it is really very good. I spun the water out...but still, all that table linen, the marimekko fabric and all that thread..weighed a lot.
And regarding the Marimeko fabric..I bought this piece in Thunder Bay when I visited there in 2009. I just bought another piece from the same shop this summer...Finn Port. They can be found online. It is expensive.
I've also ordered some of this fabric online , and have a piece that came out of California. It's very trendy right now, and a beautiful fabric and as Helen says, a nod to my Finnish heritage.
Serena, you are right about it being difficult to needle - but not as bad as all that. I don't strive for the same stitch per inch count that you do.
Earth Ark
In the delicate cycle, 
Sunlight with Marimekko fabric back 
Clean. Draped over the sofa. 
Back view. 
and the couching survived.
22 comments:
Now THAT took plenty of courage! Whew, I'm glad it all survived. Judy, it looks great!
brave one you are! It looks wonderful.
Oh I am so glad it survived! It's fantastic!
That would have been scary... the quilt looks like it survived its wash beautifully.
I love that Marimeko backing.
Jacky xox
O boy, you had courage ! Turned out very good !
(the Marimeko is (still) fantastic!!!)
You my dear are one brave soul! Just look at how those foundation strips of the sky catch the light around the arc. And look at the movement in those watery triangles. And of course the arc held together with French knots. You must be pleased and your little group of stitchers will be so proud.
i like seeing it in washer, on the line, on the couch!
I was terrified.
I was in a dither about how to clean it. I just about took it to the dry cleaner, until yet another friend suggested hand washing.
So...that was what I was going to do. In our bath tub.
But at the last minute, I put it in the delicate cycle of the washing machine. Just did it.
I stopped the machine before it went into the spin cycle, and put the quilt through the wash and soak cycle again. So two washes, and one spin.
It's very very heavy when its wet.
Oh this is fabulous!! I always found that the washing made a special difference all on its own to add to the finishing when I was weaving.. it turned it from cloth into finished sensuous textile.
Love it on the line.
maravilloso
Magnifique résultat!!!
I just ached to see it in reality and my hands just want to touch it! It is so beautiful, even on the pics I just have to look and look and look...! :)
And I don't think I would have been as brave as you to wash it this way ^^
It's/its baptism, and you had faith and so did it----
Looks like it worked beautifully!
I'm right in the middle of a course on Textile Conservation, and I learned a tip just yesterday that I thought was brilliant, logical and I can't figure out why it never occurred to me... I thought I would pass it on for next time.
Put the quilt in the machine - a top loader - fill it and let it soak - no agitation; then put it delicate spin to extract the water. Go figure! Evidently it's the agitation that is the hardest thing on quilts - especially old ones. I also asked about front loaders, but the recommendation was for the above method.
There are other issues about drying - line versus flat, etc. but that would be too long a post.
very nice quilt!!
Wow!
I am constantly in awe of the resilience of cloth and stitch. That was brave!
I wash my quilts as Micaela indicates - put them in the washer and fill it up with water and mild soap. Hand swish it a bit just to mix everything. Let soak, spin, refill to rinse and spin out again, dry flat. Works great and is so much easier on washer and washed than lifting sopping wet mass.
Forgot to say the other day that I like the nod to your Finnish heritage by using marimeko fabric on the back. Was this ordered on line somewhere? I saw a shop in Seattle, but it was quite expensive.
@ helen. you can find pieces online...lots on ebay, where people have used it to decorate by stapling it to canvas...they remove and sell with some regularity. it's a lot like most decorator fabric and very hard to needle if you're quilting the old school way.
judy this is just magnificent.
Thank you for the advice and encouragement, everyone.
Michela and Mary Beth...yes. Drying flat . Of course.
I mentioned to Ned that we needed more floor space or something and he is going to come up with a drying rack for me that can go onto the quilt frame. This will be fantastic as then I can also block the work so its square while drying.
Making such large pieces - this piece is 90" square, the next one is 100" square...make it difficult to find empty floor space that is clean enough.
My delicate cycle soaks the items and agitates gently. I think it is really very good.
I spun the water out...but still, all that table linen, the marimekko fabric and all that thread..weighed a lot.
And regarding the Marimeko fabric..I bought this piece in Thunder Bay when I visited there in 2009. I just bought another piece from the same shop this summer...Finn Port. They can be found online. It is expensive.
I've also ordered some of this fabric online , and have a piece that came out of California. It's very trendy right now, and a beautiful fabric and as Helen says, a nod to my Finnish heritage.
Serena, you are right about it being difficult to needle - but not as bad as all that. I don't strive for the same stitch per inch count that you do.
Thanks again for the feedback.
Oh what a beautiful quilt! I'm so glad it washed so well.
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