Saturday, August 30, 2008

Floating Tucks Portfolio

I finally finished the Floating Tucks Portfolio I started at the Grand Rapids ASG embellishment workshop in mid-July. Pretty impressive that I finished it so quickly, considering the number of in process projects currently cluttering up the Room Eventually to Be Known as the Room Formerly Known as Pink.

I surprised myself by choosing primary colors instead of something elaborate and beaded. That decision was influenced by the notebook I found to cover. I decided I wanted the paper inside to coordinate with the cover.

The tucks (vertical in this picture) stitched with #12 Sulky variegated thread in primary colors in both the top thread and the bobbin. I had not used the heavy thread in both before, and I was pleased with the results. I used the edge stitching foot to keep the tucks the same size. The horizontal stitching pulls the tucks in alternate directions. The #12 thread is used in the top but not in the bobbin. I made a fabric bead to simulate a button closure.



This is the inside of the portfolio. You can't see in this photo that the yellow paper is actually graph paper. Great for those of us who need all the help we can get in drawing diagrams.

The colors of the outside and the lining are really much closer than they look in the photos. But they are not a perfect match. That's the reason for the green piping. With that little separation, they look the same. I auditioned the green as binding, but it grabbed all the attention, and the effect of the variegated thread on the outside was lost.

The directions called for a Velcro closure, but I only had black and white Velcro. Then I decided to paint some white Velcro with blue Dye-na-Flow. That actually worked well. But it's scratchy. So in the end, I chose to do a little deconstruction so I could slip the reinforcements for a magnetic snap between the layers.

This portfolio is modified from "Wrap It To Go" from Fons and Porter's Easy Quilts, Fall 2007.

Now if anyone knows how to rearrange the photos and wrap the text, please let me know!

Marty S

1 comment:

Rose Anne B said...

WOW I just love this portfolio! Very nice job and the colours and effects too!