As many of you know, when I am at the gym on the Elliptical or Treadmill machines, I watch Youtube videos and learn LOTS of new things. One day I even convinced myself to buy a sit-down longarm…..that was an expensive gym day!!
But back to current findings!!
On this particular day, I was watching videos about using Inktense Pencils on fabric. Now this one wouldn’t cost much since I already had a set of pencils and sticks that I wanted to learn about….
Well, it did cost a bit because the video suggested using a fabric medium to set the paints…
I started out with dry fabric and used the side of the block to scribble in some color….
Since this was going to be the background, I wanted it to form a mottled wash so I started using a sponge brush and water….
Hmmm….maybe that was TOO much scribbling!!!
I kept adding water and scrubbing the fabric, and finally came to a color wash that I was happy with….
Now it was time to add the flower design. I first drew it lightly on the fabric using the black Inktense pencil and then started adding color…..
At first, I was drawing on the fabric and then coming back in with fabric medium…
But sometimes I would dip the brush in the medium and then brush it across the sticks to pick up color and then paint it on the fabric.
Eventually, I will get a video posted of the process!!
Before long I had the design painted and even added a bit more color to halo the flower…..
I added two borders….
Then it was off to the machine to do a bit of quilting and binding…..
They are some of the most generous people around. I have met very few who weren’t willing to share their stash, their tools and supplies and their expertise with anyone who needed it.
As an example, I was contacted by my friend Pat asked if I was interested in some paint supplies that she would never use. Naturally, I couldn’t turn down an offer like that!!!
But, I was totally surprised when I opened the package and found all of these Shiva Paintstick sets…..
…. a series of stencils that look to be SO much fun……
….AND a pattern and rubbing plates for a Christmas quilt……
When I add in the stencils and rubbing plates that I ALREADY own……
…..I am thinking that there is going to be some FUN creating going on soon!!!
Yesterday I described my ARGHHHH day and ended the post by saying that I would try the machine quilting again….maybe…..or maybe I would start a new project. I am sure that it is no surprise that I STARTED SOMETHING NEW!!!!
When I had my “Inspiration Day” last weekend, I found one fiber art piece that looked like fun and would give me a chance to try some different surface techniques. During the week I gathered up my supplies and today I made a test piece to see how things would work and see if the paints that I owned were appropriate.
The first step was to cut little swatches of lots of the fabrics that I had pulled….
I moved to the machine and free-motion stitched them down, using the full-circle darning foot rather than the open toe. This keeps the foot from getting caught under loose edges…..
Then I mixed up a few of my Setacolor paints. Before I show the result, let me tell you about my paint collection. Many years ago (maybe 15 or more) I happened to be in a Michaels store when they were obviously dropping the line of Pebeo & Jacquard paints, and I bought them for 25 to 50 cents per bottle. Needless to say, I stocked up. This is what I still have left after all of these years…..
Most of them are in pretty bad shape, either very thick or almost empty, but I am always impressed with what a little bit of water or a mixer such as white or black can do to revitalize them. Someday I will need to replace them but today is NOT that day.
I mixed up a small pot of blue and another of green and started painting……
The middle stripes were applied with a stiff brush and I think that the paint is a little too thick. The two outside rows (green on right and blue on left) were applied with a makeup sponge and I am much happy with their appearance. I also know that using a sea sponge would change the texture.
I was pleased with the coverage that the paint brought to the 3-D “stuff”, and especially happy with the flannel, burlap and color catcher…..
Color catcher
Flannel
Burlap
I don’t see the point to using silk unless I spend some time to ravel the edges and I have just had the idea to maybe cut out some circles and ravel around them. (See…this is why I blog….I get ideas as I write)!!
As I just now looked back at the project that I am emulating, I think that the paints were too thick and I will water them down and try to make it more of a wash rather than heavy paint.
Now I patiently waited for it to dry…..NOT SO MUCH. I laid down paper towels on the paint and used a dry iron!!!
The next step was to try stitching on it and seeing if it would work over the paint and especially over the raised embroidery work. I started with some basic stitching with regular thread…..
Then I tried one of the “buttercups”, made with Tulle and thread……
Probably too much Tulle, but I can adjust that as I go. ALSO, I just realized that I was supposed to use Organza rather than Tulle so that will make a huge difference!!
Final step was to try one of the Daisies. I decided to test my machine out buy using two threads at one time…..
I also slowed Juanita down to the turtle position…..
…..and started making LONG stitches by moving the fabric quickly when the needle was up……
This is certainly not perfect but at least I have an idea that I can accomplish it!!
I enjoyed playing with some threads that I have collected from over the years but never used for quilting purposes……
Finally, I took some red paint and tried doing a little dry brushing on the raised embellishments. I think that I might use this, especially if I put a group of embroidery flowers in one area.
Bottom line….I cant wait to get started on this project!!!!
Something seems wrong about the title of this post. How could anything good come from the ongoing pandemic?
Even though I didn’t have extra time during the lockdown, for some reason, I have had tons of time this summer. Part of this is because of the new paradigm that I initiated in 2019, where I am using blocks of time to accomplish my goals. Part of it is because of the many gatherings that have been canceled and part is because our usual overseas travels have been curtailed!!
Because of this extra time, I have been able to finish many of my ongoing projects and am ready to try some different techniques and just do a little bit of playing!! So on Saturday, my goal was to look for inspiration…..
……for future projects, especially thinking to expand my knowledge of drawing, painting, and surface design.
But first, I wanted to get my studio cleaned up again, including cleaning and oiling my machine…..
Apparently Juanita is a thirsty machine!!
It looks SO clean!!!
When Kaitlyn and I were both sewing a few weeks back, I had put up my Viking and enjoyed having both machines up. But, once I took the machine down it seemed like a nice area to leave open for other tasks…..like inspiration planning…..
The first thing that I did was watch a video that I bought many years ago featuring Jane LaFazio and her ideas about drawing, watercolor and keeping a journal……
This video ALWAYS inspires me and encourages me to start trying some drawing….something that I don’t really believe I can do.
I pulled out my art supply box and was pleased to see that I have all of the tools that she talks about, plus a few others…..
So starting on Monday, I am going to try to draw something at least 3 times each week.
I decided to do a quick run around the yard to get ideas of things that I could sketch and ran into some pretty butterflies along the way…..
Next I pulled out a stack of books about art quilts and design techniques, found a comfortable chair and started working thru them one by one. There were two that stood out to me….
“Art Quilt Workbook” contains exercises that might help to get me thinking in a different way, and “Fabric Art Workshop” has lots of surface design ideas. I am thinking that I may try to do some of these exercises as well.
BUT, all of these are designed for making Art Quilts and honestly, I don’t see myself as an art quilter. However, I am sure that trying new techniques will give ideas for future projects.
Finally, I remembered a book that I bought at a Quilt Show some years ago…..
The idea behind this book is to first layer and stitch a lot of textures onto a background piece that is only in whites and creams. Then you paint over the texture that you have developed and add the featured designs on the top. This sounds really interesting and something very different to anything that I have ever done.
So, I am planning to make this quilt……
I really don’t like copying designs that someone else has already done but I will follow the instructions for this quilt and use it to learn this technique.
The final thing that I thought thru was whether or not I needed to make more quilts that weren’t necessarily meaningful to me. What will I do with any new found inspirations? Do I want to put them on ETSY and see if I can sell them? Maybe put them in the member’s boutique at the next guild quilt show?
Or maybe it is okay to just make art pieces without having a reason? Can that be right? It sure doesn’t fit with the way I think but it seems that this may be a good time to take a chance and change that thinking!!!
