The Blanket Problem

 

Here's a peek at what's been taking forever in the restoration of TSII #325, the Classic scale Fountain Art Deco parade set.  For reasons known only to certain stubborn artists of long-lasting age and fame, I chose to update the old fleece-&-marker blanket with the highest technology of which I was capable.  The soft, fluffy and oh-so-realistic texture of a tufted corona blanket was irresistible to me.  And what better way to deal with the old blanket than to use it for the base?

With thanks to Melody Snow for her book on making model corona blankets.

There were other delays, chief among them a 3-week road trip to Tucson (from central Pennsylvania) to see my father.   It was during this trip I started the corona.  I began with a piece of polyester satin for the larger bottom sheet, which I used to make the corona hoop-able.  It also covers the bases of the stitches and shields the horse from them.  But the satin was a mistake.  It was too thin and shreddy, and also my piece of it was too small.  What you see in these shots is some old cotton sheet from my Dad's ragbox.  The cotton sheet worked far better.

 Returning home, alas, did not give me any more time.  A week was needed for putting things away and dealing with everything that awaited us, from shopping, banking and voting :)  to car repair and trying to speed up doctor appointments (not done yet).  I slipped in hours when I could.  Below is the same stage as above except with the loops clipped and much trimming and fluffing done on finished color blocks;  and then those parts were squished into the hoop so I could move on to the rear.

The tufting process is incredibly laborious.  Make up embroidery floss strands;  thread the two-holed needle with a special device (twice for each color);  stab and withdraw multiple times, flipping over the hoop to view each side each stab until a block is filled;  then switch colors.  I wound up purchasing a second tufting needle.  To my dismayed surprise, although its packaging was identical to my first, the size was different.  It was notably larger!  This could have been a disaster!  But instead it allowed me to tuft twice as much floss.  Oh the relief,...

Once the loops are in place and the FrayCheck on their bottoms has dried, they are cut, and the trimming and fluffing begins.  I use both my Needle Awl and a wire brush from Precista (designed for preparing archeological specimens!) for this.  The pointed scissors themselves, of course, are also used a lot in the fluffing and trimming process.  

Close up uncut loops

  Finally, eight days after our return (Oct 25 to Nov 1), I was able to finish the tufting stage of the corona. 

As of this writing, most of the trimming and fluffing is done, and the bottom sheet is being cut and sewn up.  To my relieved surprise, the saddle seems to fit on the corona blanket well enough.  In the 2nd photo, you can see a paper pattern at upper left;  this was to represent the saddle edges for purposes of corona blanket fitting.  But fitting wound up not being a problem.

 Here is a glimpse of the underside of #325's corona, halfway through the tufting. This is the only evidence of that earlier satin sheet:  see the way the front corners are missing their red & white color-block bottoms.  Those parts, already done and covered by satin, are hidden by the later cotton sheet.

 Yet this is only the beginning of the saddle's restoration process.  That is what my title refers to:  It isn't just a problem with this particular blanket.  The problem is balancing one's desire to stubbornly run down rabbit holes (after all, this behaviour made the TSII what it is today!) with the need to timely supply product, to keep promises and to meet deadlines.  It's a universal toughie every artist faces.  Difficult choices sometimes seem to cover me over, muffling everything, smothering the muse.

I've made a list for #325:  Polishing, sealing, replacing, cleaning.  At the moment I'm estimating 15 hours for the job.  That could be a few days, a week or two weeks, depending on what else is happening.  The set is, in fact, in pretty good shape.  The chances of conserving a large portion of the silver, instead of replacing it, are high.

I look forward to working more with this thirty-three-year-old Parade set.