Sketching With Your Sewing Machine

I thought you all might like to see this post from the Sketchbook Challenge.  This month's theme is Close-Up.  check it out:)

http://sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/2012/02/from-drawing-to-stitch-close-up-element.html

Here's to your creative time!  best, deborah

January 2012 Trade: Writing on the Wall

This trade was lots of fun.  Photos of pieces done by Johanne, Cynthia and Linda Stone will be added to this post as soon as received.  In the mean time - Enjoy!

Linda Friedman has set up a tutorial for a Coffee Table Book for our 12X12 pieces.  Link: http://lindasartquilts.blogspot.com/2012/02/create-art-quilt-coffee-table-book.html

Weather Forcast from Linda Friedman:
It's winter and, sure enough, it is "written on the wall" that inclement weather will follow. The machine appliquéd bird was originally thread painted in brown and beige shades, but because it looked dull on the quilt background, I overpainted it with blues and then applied glitter glue on the feathers to make it shimmer, as if snow had fallen on its wings. I
stenciled the words from hand cut card stock*, free motion stitched around each letter and then filled in the letters with glitter glue. I quilted the piece with continuous freemotion needlework to give it an overall look of falling snowflakes. To emphasize a snow element a faux pearl bead was stitched into the intersecting lines of each snowflake. To achieve a
binding that blended with the quilt's hand painted background, I used thinned down yellow and blue Setacolor fabric paints, scrunched the fabric while wet, and set it in the sun to do it's "thing".

Thank you Linda!  I love it and my Fair Friend hangs above my desk to enjoy each day! deborah


Art Quilt Graffiti from Mary Beth:

Materals and techniques used include Simply Spray and Jacquard Textile Paints, perminant markers, thread painting on raw edge applique, and silk flowers.

Freedom from Nancy:

My inspiration came from the Berlin Wall.  As I thought about writing on a wall the images put on the Berlin Wall kept calling to me.  As I looked at pictures of the art work and graffiti that accumulated on the Wall the word "freedom" appeared more than any other word.  For me this has meaning about political freedom, but also personal freedom.  Sometimes it becomes necessary to look at where life is taking us, and are we satisfied with what we see, or are changes needed.

I used Tsukneko Ink for the images scrawled directly on the fabric, and bright red fabric for the letters fused to the surface of the quilt.  I used a variety of Superior threads for the outline of the letters and the quilting.  The use of straight lines in the quilting is meant to symbolize the sometimes invisible bars that keep us from stretching and growing as individuals. 

Bonsai from Eileen:

This is my piece for our “The Writing is on the Wall” exchange. I printed an image of one of my bonsai paintings on fabric through Spoonflower. The image is about 4” x 6”. I gave the image a white corduroy border, and stitched lace around the image to edge it further. Next I cut out some letters from printed fabric to spell “bonsai” and stitched these letters to white corduroy. The letters are raw edge.

These two pieces were put on a printed blue denim fabric that I used for my background. I thread painted some foliage shapes to the background and darkened the shapes using Tsukineko inks. I also stitched the bonsai shape a bit, and added some thread painting to the foliage. 

Creative Inspirations from Mia:

I had fun with this theme. I decided to make a literal interpretation of the theme. I stitched white thread on top of hand dyed brownish red fabric to create brick mortar. Then I spattered white and black acrylic paint to distress the "wall". Hand painted and commercial fabric was used for the various sayings that were fused then top stitched.

Writing on the Wall from Sue:

Symbols from the Past from Teresa:

The Color of Happy from Deborah:

I used Frieda Andersen's fusible applique technique with graduated dyed fabric to make this colorful anything goes piece.  Three decorative rotary cutters were used: scallops, deco, and pinking.

Your quilt arrived safely yesterday and I am bowled over with it's vibrancy.  It is absolutely luscious.  Your use of many different free motion quilting designs adds character and depth to the overall "happy" feeling of this creation.  Thank you so very much.  I will treasure it always, Linda Friedman

from Cynthia:  On its way:)

from Linda Stone: On its way:)

Graffitti on the Quilt Show Wall  from Johanne



More Creativity with Linda Friedman

I had intended to post each of these tutorials of Linda's as separate posts, but seeing that I am way behind, I am sending them on as a group. 
Linda's Blog includes wonderful tutorials that she creatively and graciously posts. 
Thank you Linda!

http://lindasartquilts.blogspot.com/2011/11/craft-foam-stamps.html

http://lindasartquilts.blogspot.com/2011_09_04_archive.html

silk screen project

http://lindasartquilts.blogspot.com/2011/09/writing-on-fabric.html

http://lindasartquilts.blogspot.com/2011/08/repeating-pattern-screen-and-screen.html

http://lindasartquilts.blogspot.com/2011/07/masking-silk-screen-with-beeswax.html

http://lindasartquilts.blogspot.com/2011/03/fabric-and-fiber-bead-play.html

http://lindasartquilts.blogspot.com/2011_02_27_archive.html

Soon we will have Linda's tutorial for a Coffee Table Book layout for our 12X12 trades!

best, deborah

Bonsai

This is my piece for our "The Writing is on the Wall" exchange. I printed an image of one of my bonsai paintings on fabric through Spoonflower. The image is about 4" x 6". I gave the image a white corduroy border, and stitched lace around the image to edge it further. Next I cut out some letters from printed fabric to spell "bonsai" and stitched these letters to white corduroy. The letters are raw edge.   These two pieces were put on a printed blue denim fabric that I used for my background. I thread painted some foliage shapes to the background and darkened the shapes using Tsukineko inks. I also stitched the bonsai shape a bit, and added some thread painting to the foliage.  Eileen Wintemute http://www.eileenwintemute.blogspot.com

Writing on the Wall Quilt - "Weather Forecast "

It's winter and, sure enough, it is "written on the wall" that inclement
weather will follow. The machine appliquéd bird was originally thread
painted in brown and beige shades, but because it looked dull on the quilt
background, I overpainted it with blues and then applied glitter glue on the
feathers to make it shimmer, as if snow had fallen on its wings. I
stenciled the words from hand cut card stock*, free motion stitched around
each letter and then filled in the letters with glitter glue. I quilted the
piece with continuous freemotion needlework to give it an overall look of
falling snowflakes. To emphasize a snow element a faux pearl bead was
stitched into the intersecting lines of each snowflake. To achieve a
binding that blended with the quilt's hand painted background, I used
thinned down yellow and blue Setacolor fabric paints, scrunched the fabric
while wet, and set it in the sun to do it's "thing".
* Note about making long lasting card stock stencils: A long time ago I
learned to apply linseed oil to hand cut cardstock to make it durable, but I
didn't have any linseed oil on hand. Instead, I applied 3 coats of
polyurethane after I cut out the letters and it worked famously well. The
stencils that were used on this quilt will now stand up to repeated use
without destroying the card stock.

ClothPaperScissors Postcard Reader's Challenge

Hi Serendipities - Look what Mia Bloom found for us!

The ClothPaperScissors website includes a postcard reader's challenge. I thought some of the Serendipities would be interested. Here is the link to the reader's challenge page. The postcard challenge is at the top of the page.  Mia

http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/content/ReaderChallenges.aspx

Thanks Mia - several look like fun!    

Sharing from Linda Friedman

Linda recently introduced me to Leah Day's Blog and the Free Motion Quilting Project.  WOW what a great Blog!  I want to share some of Linda's comments and photos as she has worked through Leah's designs.

"I believe that Leah uses 6"x 6" sandwiches and that is what I used on attached; however, I liked the finished products so much that I wish they had been 12"+ x 12"+, so you might consider working on a size that, if it turns out to be something you like, you can bind it and use it as a finished work.  I started each of the ones that are pictured using one of Leah's designs and then I took off on my own.  When the stitching was done, I revisited them and filled in color with Tsukeneko (sp?) inks and gave them titles that I thought represented a feeling they evoked--at least for me.  I actually ended up mounting each of these on stretched, artist canvases that I painted first.

Not too long ago, a visitor to my place  wanted to see some of the things I've been working on, and I was dumbfounded when she begged to have a long, narrow "sandwich" that was sitting by my machine and purely for auditioning stitches, threads, tension and quilting designs.  She said that she wanted to make a sofa pillow out of it, but she didn't know how to sew.  I whipped up a button backed sham type thing for her and she was absolutely thrilled and so excited that she featured it in her decor at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Go know!  To me it was mishmash.  To her it was art.  I guess it's true that we are our own worst critics."  check it out at:   http://lindasartquilts.blogspot.com/2011_11_06_archive.html

I'm Inspired!! Thank you Linda!!   Just need some dedicated practice play time.  Best to all, deborah