Project Managment and Artistic Challenges

I knew when I took on the jeans circle quilt project that it was big and that it would take a lot of work (no, it's not done yet!). But like any big project, it's also subject to project planning and constant reevaluation.

One of my friends recently asked me what percentage of the project was finished. He's been spending way too much of his time doing project management in the last few years! But I was able to figure out that I was maybe 30% percent along at the time, after about 6 weeks.

I've recently been spending a greater percentage of my time on the project, rather than just cutting circles while waiting for my kids at chorus practice and such, so it has been speeding up a bit. I've now gotten all the circles sewn together into three sections for easier handling going forward (in this picture it is 11 sections).

However, having reached that milestone, I'm doing what drives project managers (and workers) crazy all over the world--dropping the project completely for a while while I focus on other projects.

In the meantime, I did another favorite task of project managers: the prototype. I made a separate 9-circle square prototype quilt. I found a bandana similar to the tie-dyed sheet I'm planning to cut up, got the batting, got the fancy shiny variegated thread I'm planning to use, and put them all together.


I tried out various stitches, widths and lengths of stitches, and so on. The prototype itself took quite a while (as they often do). In this case, though, it was very valuable to do the prototype (as it often is). I learned a lot from it. I wish I had done it sooner, as it has also opened up the project to a lot of reevaluation. Roughly translated, I hate the results of the prototype!


As part of the reevaluation I've decided I hate the shiny variegated thread. It looks too busy with everything else, and it's slippery and extremely hard to work with. So I'll be going with navy blue cotton thread instead. I've also decided I want thicker batting, so it's back to the store for that, too.

So once I get back to the project, I can pick back up on my project planning and keep my friends informed! What I still have to do is just cut up the colored fabric into squares for the other side, cut the batting too, and put it all together (I figure just arranging the fabric squares to a pleasing design will take me two or three days of work!).

Et voila! Instant quilt! Yeah, right! Maybe by December...

Did Galileo Do Tie-Dye?

I spent the whole day today doing one of the things I enjoy most: teaching tie-dye to lots of kids.

I was at my daughter's summer camp, Galileo Summer Quest, which is a new program here for middle school kids. It's not "school", but it's a seriously educational program. Kids spend time doing things like learning how to make digital movies (from storyboards to shooting to editing on the computer) and learning leadership and collaboration skills. They also spend a period of each day doing more recreational activities like playing extreme hopscotch and foursquare--that's where the tie-dye comes in (besides, it is camp!).

Galileo Summer Quest is a great camp for nerd kids--or kids whose parents want them to be nerd kids! Or both, in my daughter's case--(wipes away tear)--I'm SO proud! I'm a nerd too, of course. But the question arises: is there anything educational and intellectual about tie-dye?

Absolutely! In my pre-dye lectures to the middle schoolers, I manage to sneak in just a little brain work. There's a little botany/biology: the Procion dyes bond to the cellulose in the cotton shirts, and where can you find cellulose? Cell walls in plants. There is a little chemistry in the reaction of the dyes with the soda ash (a basic solution) and the cellulose. And there is math: we spend time talking about how folds relate to the lines of symmetry, and how the stripes of colors relate to the folding, in the final design. We did X, V, stripe, and diamond designs. The kids (and counselors) really have to apply their spatial skills to wrap their heads around how the diamond and the X patterns come from almost the same folds.

Who knew tie-dye was so intellectual? Galileo would be proud.

Jeans Circle Quilt -- It's a Start...

I mentioned in my last post that I was cutting out lots of circles for a circle blue jeans quilt. With a bit of help from my kids, I've now got all 221 circles cut out, plus a few more for good measure. I've spent a few days laying them out on the floor (with way too much help from Lacey, who knows she belongs in the center!), and now I have a design I'm pretty happy with.


The center 25 circles are already sewn together, since that part of the design was easy for me (and it was my proof-of-concept piece). The rest of it is all just pinned together.

What Was I Thinking?

This is a big project. My next step is to sew the rest of the circles together into squares with 4 "petals" on the reverse side. I also need to cut out squares of batting for each circle, as well as squares of colored fabric for each circle. The final step is to sew each petal down over the squares using a zigzag stitch to hold it together and quilt the piece. Each step times 221. No problem!

Dog, Again

And how can I do without a gratuitous dog picture, especially since Lacey's been spending so much time "helping" me with my layout?


Good thing for Lacey that pins don't seem to bother her!

Recycling More Jeans -- Work Apron

I'm currently working on making a circle blue jeans quilt. I haven't made much progress to show off yet, other than hitting up all my friends and family for their old ripped jeans and cutting out about 190 circles (so far), but I'm getting there.

In the meantime, I'm building up quite a pile of jeans scraps, particularly the hips-and-pockets upper sections of the jeans. The back pockets are useful for any number of kids' crafts, but that's not exactly my thing. I want something really useful. Maybe I'm channeling Thomas the Tank Engine or something--he wants to be a "really useful engine"!

Construction

I started with a pair of Levi's 501 button fly jeans with a 33" inch waist, which fits me pretty well. I took the upper section and cut it off about 1 3/4" below the bottom points of the back pockets. Then I ripped the side seams up to the waistband. I just want the back side and the waistband for this project. I ripped out the lower seam of the front waistband only as far as needed to get the front pocket sections loose so I could discard them. Now I have an apron-shaped piece with its own built-in button closure. I hemmed the bottom edge (under the back pockets) and stitched down the sides. I also restitched the waistband where I had ripped its seams.

I now have a pretty good sturdy apron with two pockets. For a finishing touch and one more pocket, I cut out the "fifth pocket" from the front pocket scraps. Since I want the look of the rivets, I cut an extra flap above the pocket.



I sewed the pocket down first by its flap (right sides together, pocket upside down). I used a zipper foot to let me get my seam right up against the thick layers of the pocket.



Then I folded it down into place and sewed it down over the existing pocket topstitching. Here is the finished apron. Note that I'm using the original fly button and buttonhole as the closure at the back of the apron. That little blur at the top of the pocket near the ruler is where I reinforced a worn spot with a little machine darning. Just adds to that recycled authenticity!

Very useful indeed!

Gratuitous Dog Pictures of the Day

Lacey must be competing with Moxie for who gets into my blog most often, because today when I was photographing the work apron, there she was, complete with her tie-dyed, recycled jeans dog toy!




I guess Lacey wants me to make her a work apron in her size...

Tie-Dye in the Park with Dogs

I've been having a lot of fun posting pictures lately. It's been first graders for a while, and now it's back to dogs! We went to a park in Santa Rosa over the weekend, and of course had to wear tie-dye and take pictures.

Here is Moxie again, in his green and yellow dog shirt. It's always hard getting a good picture of a very black dog, but he looks good in the sun.

Introducing Cruella

Cruella is a Hairless Chinese Crested Dog belonging to some friends of my mom. Cruella doesn't have any fur other than the bits on her head, ears, legs, and tail, so she gets cold easily, even during the summer. She is used to wearing shirts and sweaters and jackets almost all the time.

I had passed along a tie-dyed dog shirt through my mom, even though I had never met Cruella. A bunch of my mom's friends gather at the park regularly, and it just happened that Cruella happened to come wearing the tie-dye shirt this time. What luck! I finally got to meet Cruella and she's dressed for the occasion!


Cruella is quite the model, isn't she? She's wearing a size Small shirt.


Cruella and Moxie look fabulous together.


Why Do People Keep Calling Us "The Tie-Dye Family"?

Well, I suppose it's better than "The Polka-Dot Family"! As a family, we often wear our brightest, loudest tie-dye clothes when we go out in big public places such as Disney World. It's purely practical--it makes it much easier to keep track of our group ("Are you missing a little girl in tie-dye? She went thataway."). My mom and my father-in-law aren't into the tie-dye thing, but they were good sports for our park outing. I suppose you could consider my mom's shirt shibori rather than strictly tie-dye, but it's close enough.

Finally, a good family picture!

Mountain View Voice Likes Color Too

The Mountain View Voice newspaper just printed my photo of the first graders in their fabulous tie-dye!

The school PTA recently installed a brand new handball court ("ball wall"), so it seemed like the best backdrop for the picture. New shirts, new wall--many colors in front of some serious green!

It's on page 5 in the Local News section (June 13, 2008 edition) .

Thanks, Mountain View Voice!

Most Colorful School Around!

Today the first graders got their shirts back! They came out beautifully, and the kids loved them! I also made shirts as a surprise for all the teachers at the school. They were very excited to receive them, and today's final assembly of the school year was our most colorful ever.

Here's the first grade, all squashed together:


Wow! Enough said.