Fail, fail again… If you are going to fail it is best to fail quickly and learn something from it!

This week I’ve been working on adding the trim to the quilt for my great-grandmother Cassie Hodgman (a.k.a. Nan). It was meant to be done with the pages of an old Sears & Roebucks catalog, dipped in wax, through which I would weave ribbon. This was to mimic the ribbon work on the christening gown that Nan had made for my grandfather (above).

The pieces of the catalog pages were all dipped, cut to the requisite length and I had finally figured out exactly how far apart the slices for the ribbon interweaving needed to be cut. I worked out a guide to do the cutting, cut a test piece and tried weaving the ribbon through. It crumbled in my hands. Heavy sigh. Did I mention how old and delicate these pages are?

So I had to decide if I wanted to come up with a different book of some sort to use so that I could keep the ribbon work or keep the Sears & Roebuck catalog since that has the connection with my grandfather (Nan’s son). I decided to stick with the catalog (ok having the pieces all cut may have influenced my decision…).

I did not get far:

Encaustic monoprints, thread, quilt batting, catalog pages

The going was very slow. I found I had to go even slower than normal because even after dipping in wax, the catalog paper was so delicate it would start to tear at the slightest tug. The problem I was finding was that sections that had already been sewn would tear as I maneuvered the piece to sew subsequent sections.

Detail of Nan’s quilt showing tearing

I finally determined that this was just unworkable. That even if I could complete the piece, it would never hold up to the wear and tear of being hung and stored for any length of time.

So back to the drawing board and finding a book to represent my great-grandmother Cassie. At least now I should be able to bring the ribbon-work back!