Textured Twist Revisited

Ever since I made my first large quilt using my Textured Twist technique (Louver), I've been subconsciously working on a design for my next quilt.  Eventually a plan started forming and I knew what I had to do.  

Doing the Textured Twists technique isn't a fast process.  It takes perseverance and you have to be in it for the long haul!  That being said, I was ready to take it on knowing there would be no turning back.  Full force ahead!

38" x 53" 

I had to be all in when I started this quilt.  This kind of quilt is better appreciated when you see it in person or see close up photos.  That most likely puts me in the 'crazy' category, but I've been there before!  Deep down I was doubting myself and wondering if all this work is worth it.  If you can't share the full impact...what's the point?!  Determination to keep my technique in the forefront, dedication to making the design come alive and refusal to fail motivated me!



The starting point of quilting always begins with the fabric.  Choosing and then cutting.  I grabbed my stack of blues and developed my 'ombre' plan ending up with 32 different shades of blue.  That's a lot!  Thankfully I have yardage and fat quarters to round out my plan.  

The second step is to press, starch and cut the strips.  With yardage I cut my 3/4" strips and then cut them in half, and with fat quarters I cut double that along the longest side.  After cutting each color I placed them on a board to keep the gradient in order.

Step three is cutting the 1" strips that sandwich the 3/4" folded strips, in this case I was using Kona White.  Again cutting off the fold to make the strips manageable.

And the final step is pressing the starched blue strips in half.  That's right!  The 3/4" folded strips in half is 3/8", factor in 1/4" seam allowance and the 'twist' becomes 1/8".  That's where the magic happens.  That's how you get the texture, the detail and the illusion.

I learned after the last quilt that pressing the strips in half becomes super painful after a while!  I wanted to dip my fingers in a jar of aloe for relief!  The steam from the iron is crucial to get a good fold, but it also scorches your fingers.  

A few months ago I saw something that I thought might be the solution to that. 



Thermal Thimbles!  I had never heard of such a thing!  Willing to take a chance I ordered a package and tucked them away until now.  They were quite inexpensive too!  Thank you Dritz for making my life easier!  Time to test them out....



Stylin' the blue!



And you know what?  They work!  Holy heck!  A tool that works and will make my life easier is always worth the money!  

I used one on my thumb and one on my index finger.  The only problem, and it really wasn't a problem, was you can't feel the fabric.  My solution was to use my middle finger to start the fold and my protected fingers for the iron part.  I highly recommend these Thermal Thimbles to anyone who does a lot of ironing.  You'll thank me I promise!

With that out of the way, I pieced together my sections of twists working on one wave at a time.  



I was fully aware of where the lighter sections were being placed because that was all a part of the plan.  



The twist illusion starts with one side of the twists sewn in the seam one way, and the opposite side in the other direction.  That's the texture part.

The illusion part is achieved by ironing and the angle you view the quilt.  It never disappoints for me!

Another way to get the full effect of the ombre and all the detail involved in making a quilt like this is the back of the top.   Of course, you'll never see that part after the quilt is finished.  But it's worth a look!

I know what some of you are thinking...the back might be better than the front!  Or maybe even...are you crazy!  Crazy, yes.  The back is gorgeous, but many quilt top backs are.  And I'm pretty sure that the majority of us are not going to flip a seam laden back and make it the front.  It's just part of quilting!



Anytime I can make my husband think I'm crazy is always a plus!  He insists I was inspired from our recent trip to the beach, but he is so wrong!  Something like this takes months and months of planning!  Not so much on paper, but it's a process that has to simmer in my mind for a time until I'm ready to fully commit!

Next up will be the quilting, which is really a no brainer.  Dense organic horizontal curves.  The last thing you want to do is quilt over the Textured Twists!

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