Ferns: Making Progress

Here is the latest version of my fern piece. As you can well guess, I didn't finish it in time to give away at Christmas. However, I did fall in love with this little piece somewhere along the way.
Since the last photo posted, I repainted the background with more Setacolor. I am much happier with the color now. I darkened all of the areas between the ferns with a russet and a teal paint and then added more gray and turquoise to the sky to get rid of the distracting white.
 I then dug through my stash and found this raisin colored silk that came from an old kimono. It was too bright, so I wadded it up and splashed some dark brown and black paint on it and set it in a window to dry. I am much happier with it now.

And the dragonfly is a female Halloween Pennant ( Celithemis eponina) that I made using metallic silk organza for the wings and dupioni for the body. I added the detail to the body with Tsukineko inks and my Identipens and then hand appliqued the body on.
The "streamer' like pieces are simply bits and pieces of different silk stitched onto solvy which was then dissolved. I call them kite tails.
 I am anxious to get back to work on this piece, but now I am too busy with work, so it will have to wait for a while.
When I occassionally find the time to create my own work I am reminded of how much I love doing this and why I started in the first place.
 In case you wondered, I picked another piece from my inventory to give to my friend so that I didn't feel too guilty about keeping this one for myself.

New Work

This is a piece that I painted some time ago, and I would like to finish it as a Christmas gift for a friend. It is painted on 16mm silk crepe with Setacolor. I find that the images around the outside, the ferns, are too dark. Overall, the piece has too little value to be of interest.

 The other problem is that it is a square, measuring 30", which I find bothersome.  I would like to add "columns", or strips of fabric, on the sides to finish it off. That is if I can correct the color.
My art teacher suggested that I try adding some purple in the areas between the ferns, and then overpaint the ferns with a brighter green.
Any suggestions would be greatly welcome.

Finished is Better Than Perfect

     My primary business for the last eleven years has been longarm machine quilting for others. It's funny, but November and December are often my slowest months  of the year as everyone thinks I'm completely swamped with work.  I have learned to expect this slowdown and consider it a wonderful gift to have a bit of free time. 
      Another aspect of my business that I'm developing is a new product line: my Textile Design Stencils. With the development of my new designs, marketing, video development, teaching, and writing, I have a lot to juggle, and these tasks usually get neglected when I'm busy machine quilting for others.

Video camera graciously loaned to me by my brilliant step sister.
I'm so intimidated by this apparatus that I have a hard time even opening up the gear bag.

     So, these last couple of weeks I've been trying very hard to upgrade my technological skills. The most difficult lesson I've had to learn is when to just stop worrying  the minute details to death that plague me so. It's been incredibly freeing to let go of the frustration of things that won't work right, change of their own accord, or are so mind boggling in their complexity.

A beautiful quilt I'm quilting for Kemset.

     Right now I am reveling in the fact that I have grown in great leaps and bounds as I tackled tasks that have long daunted me. Tomorrow I am back to the longarm quilting as orders are thankfully beginning to roll in again.
My next challenge is to develop project and time management skills, and I would really love to hear from any of you who have suggestions on this topic.

Free Giveaway: Silk Scarf of Your Choice, Shipping Included
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You'll be automatically entered in the drawing for December 15th.
Click the Link above to go to my page.

DIY Weekend Project: Settee Makeover

This weekend I am going to recover the cushions on and old rattan settee that belonged to my great grandmother. It is signed on the bottom by the maker with a date of 1920. My mother said that she remembers it being on her grandmother's front porch when she was a young girl.
I found this really soft chenille fabric several years ago and repainted the settee to match probably five years ago, and it has just been sitting there all this time. I plan to also redo the cushions.
My friend Jeanne Blonski is coming over tomorrow to work on quilting a wallhanging, so I thought it would be a perfect time to tackle this long overdue project. I also want to remake the pillows using the existing fabrics. It should be fun. I'll post the photos of the finished project.

I know this fabric doesn't really go with the style of the furniture, but it was so warm and soft that I couldn't resist buying it.

 

Purple Poppy Dress

Here is another of my upcycled clothing pieces that was hand-painted with my Poppy Stencil. This was a 15 year old cotton knit turtleneck dress that spent the last several years hiding out in the back of my closet. I have so much fun making these pieces, but it is even more fun to wear them.

The ruffles are made from hand-painted silk organza. Now I have started embellishing the clothing with a little bit of hand embroidery and beading. It's amazing what a little bit of texture and sparkle can add to a piece.

 

I think I this could be an ongoing project. I just pick it up in the evening when I feel like doing a little handwork and add a few more stitches. I am putting together a tutorial on this project for my Free Newsletter that is coming out next week if anyone is interested.

Surface Explorations

Although I have been dyeing fabric with Procion MX dyes for more years than I care to remember, I was always plagued by niggling little unanswered questions about the process. People kept asking me to teach dyeing workshops, but I knew that I had a lot of research and experimentation before I felt capable of proceeding.

Fabrics dyed in the same dye pot: cotton on top and silk on the bottom.

 I realized that sometimes you really do just have to do the work before you can move forward. Well, I did the work, and I figured out the answer to my biggest problem; why did I achieve such different results between the silk and the cotton that I dyed?

I was so pleased with my results that I wanted for others to benefit from my findings as well, so I was absolutely thrilled when Jane Davila contacted me about writing an article for the premier issue of the new E-Mag Surface Explorations. Jane and her staff have done a magnificent job with this publication, and I am especially impressed with the high quality photography and the zoom capability that allows you to see every single thread in clear detail. Hats off to Jane and her staff!

Bonus Project! In my article I included complete instructions on dying a 12 step color wheel in cotton and silk along with many extras. So please have fun with this, and I sincerely hope that the information is as helpful to you as it has been to me.

Store Link: http://www.interweavestore.com/Quilting/Magazines/eMags.html

  Several of the authors are doing a blog tour, so please check out the links below. The links don't show up very well, but click on the dark area to the right of the name and they will work.

Mon 4/16 Lindsey Murray http://quiltingdaily.com

Tues /17 Jamie Fingal http://jamiefingaldesigns.blogspot.com

Wed 4/18 Jackie Lams http://studiolams.com

Thu 4/19 Lyric Kinard http://lyrickinard.blogspot.com

Fri 4/20 April Sproule http://sproulestudios.blogspot.com

Mon 4/23 Leslie Jenison http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com

Tues 4/24 Jane Davila http://janedavila.blogspot.com

What Fun!

I haven't made any bags for a really long time. In another life, I was once a handbag designer for a large Canadian firm. Back then, I had to worry about the drafting of the dies for the die makers, cutting layouts, the percentage of waste  for each new style, and of course the cost accounting.
Now I only have to concern myself with which color or motif to use next. I had a wonderful time creating these little bags, and I sold several at the East Bay Heritage Quilt Show in Richmond, CA, last month.

This is what I started with. I cut my panels from my hand dyed Radiance and ultra sateen. Below are a couple of my favorites that I sold at the show. I had to take the photos on the fly before they disappeared with their new owners. The bags were all printed with my Textile Design Stencils.

Here is my Beetle Bag that I made with black ultra sateen.I love the colors on this piece. I hang these bags on the wall as art when I'm not using them.

The bag on the right is my Thistle Bag. This bag was also printed on black ultra sateen. I have a few more of my finished bags available on my Website.

Back to the Drawing Board: Insects

My latest area of interest is bugs and how to feature them in my work in an interesting manner. That will not be a surprise to anyone who has been following me on Pinterest lately.
What intrigues me most about insects is the unfathomable number of variations , textures, colors, and shapes that these life forms have evolved into.
Every single species plays an integral role in maintaining their particular ecosytem, and it is hard to imagine how the delicate balance of life will be upset as these species become extinct.

During the last couple of weeks I have finally started drawing again. My usual routine is to wake by 5:30 AM, make a quick cup of strong coffee, and curl up in bed with my sketchpad for an hour or so. It is a wonderful way to start the day.

This is an image of a Virgin Tiger Moth that I have been working on for the past couple of days using pen and colored pencils. I love the distinct  markings and the bold colors. I could not wait to finish my drawing before scanning it and playing with the image in Photoshop. It is amazing how much more alive these creatures seem in my composite image.
 I am absolutely hooked, and my weary little brain is on overload momentarily as it is being flooded with images and ideas for new ways to use my new little friends. I can't wait to start putting them on fabric, and I will probably start going through my shibori pieces to see how I can integrate these images with my hand dyed fabrics.

Upcycled:My Little Black Dress

As some of you know, years ago I began creating wearable art clothing. It has been so incredibly long since I have made any garments that it feels really strange to do so again. It feels as if I have never done this before, and I seem to have forgotten the majority of what I once knew. However, I am very persistent, and I hope that some of that knowledge eventually creeps back into my brain.

The Beginning

This is the second upcycled piece that I have done in the last couple of months, and I am having so much fun doing these pieces. The fact that these garments were destined for the trash is very liberating for my creativity.

Rough Production Sketch



My  New Little Black Dress
This piece was painted with my Passion Flower Stencil



I used Lumiere  and Neopaque fabric paints which are both made by Jacquard. The commercial  pattern that I started with was Butterick # B5673. This is my first little video that I have created by myself so please let me know what you think. I have wanted to create video tutorials for a very long time, and I have been working diligently to learn the process of  filming and editing. Once I master the basics, I will be free to focus on creating better content with more detailed information. I would love to hear any feedback that you have to offer.

Fabric Paints and Dye

People had a few questions about the creation of this piece, so I will answer them here. I overdyed the garment with Procion MX dye, and I painted it with Neopaque and Lumiere paint both of which I sell on my website here:  Fabric Paints 

Old Brown Dress Reborn

For quite some time I have been saving old clothing that was too nice to either toss or donate. Periodically I will take things out of the closet and think about  how I could rejuvenate these tired old garments. This is one of my first pieces of repurposed clothing, and I had so much fun creating this piece that I can't wait to make more.

Before

  I started with a very drab, dowdy looking brown dress that was made in a cotton lycra knit. After dyeing the dress a darker shade of chocolate brown, I chopped off the bottom of the dress. Next I took the side seams apart so that the dress would lie fairly flat .

After



I had enough fabric left to cut small godets, triangular shaped pieces, to insert in each seam to give the skirt a little more flare. I printed these with my stencil in a coral color.

Back Detail

Next I used my Fuchsia Stencil on the front and back center panels of the dress. I mixed an orchid pink and a coral rose color for the flowers, and I used a taupe colored metallic paint for the leaves and the scrolls.

      This is the beginning of the stencil process on the front and the back of the dress.

     After the stenciling was finished, I heat set all of the painted areas with a hot iron for 3 minutes. Then the garment is washable in cold water.

     I sewed the godets into the princess seams of the dress and then sewed up the side seams.

     The last step was to finish the sleeves and the hem. This is a technique called lettucing. I once worked with a designer in Canada who was very fond of this technique, so it is probably one of the techniques that I will never forget how to do.       You simply use a zig-zag stitch close to the edge of the fabric, and then continue going around the hem stretching it a little more each time so that it stretches out. I went around mine three times. It works beautifully on either knits or bias cut fabric.      

     This project  took me a total of eight hours to complete. Instead of using that old brown dress cut up as cleanign rags or some equally mundane purpose, I have a new piece of clothing that is fun, colorful, and clearly represents my personal creative style. Now maybe it is time for you to go rummage through your own closet and see what forgotten treasures await you there.

Green Passion Flower

This little piece has been sitting around patiently for the past couple of months waiting to be completed. I posted earlier photos of the work in progress. Here are the beginning and the end.

This was a piece of Radiance, silk/cotton blend, that I dyed with Procion dye. I hand stitched around the perimeter of each circle, drew it up tightly, and then bound it with thread so that very little dye would seep in. It sat around for quite a while before I figure out what to do with it. It is a variation of the kumo, or spiderweb, shibori pattern.

This piece was painted with my Passion Flower Stencil, and I used Neopaque paint. I used wool batting and Aurafil thread. The red rectangles were made from a piece of Radiance that I dyed a rasberry color. I discharged them with the De Colourant in a class demo, and amazingly enough they discharged to the exact shade of green as the center piece of this wall hanging. I had wanted to add some red to this piece to neutralize all of that green and teal, so this worked out perfectly.

Work in Progress: Oriental Fuchsia

Two weeks ago I taught a workhsop here called Working with Specialty Fabrics. I have posted two of the samples that I started during the workshop. I will post images of them when they are finished.

This piece is shantung silk that was dyed with Procion dye. It was first wrapped diagonally on a pole using the arashi technique, and it  came to to be a light peach color. I am not a pastel person, so I decided to give it a little oomph. I used a combination of resist techniques in the overdyeing process, and I was much more pleased with the results. The fuchsias were stenciled on with one of my new stencils in the Botanical Series. I used Neopaque paint, and I will probaly go back and lighten it up a bit as the fuchsias look a little drab.

The shantung should have been scoured first, as it would not accept any dye initially. Live and learn.
 There are more images of the Fuchsia Stencil on my website.

For this piece, I have decided not to quilt the center panel. I could stitch through it, but I really feel that it would detract from the delicate quality of the image. However, I have chosen to quilt the borders. I am using cotton backing, wool batting, and silk dupioni for the top layer. The stitching is done in a light purple thread as I didn't want I it to be too strong of a contrast. I always back silk with cotton as it gives it more stability.

It looks like a wrinkled, puckered mess right now. When I am finished with the quilting, I will cut out the center section of the borders, add a flange in a darker value of silk, and then attach the center panel.

Here is a closeup of the border. I am making what I think of as kite tails as an embellishment for the borders. I really want to work on this piece, so I am going to sign off for now and finally get to it.

Work in Progress: Passion Flower

This is the first actual piece that I have done with my new Passion Flower Stencil. I have been printing lots of samples lately, but it is really nice to be finishing a project at last.This wall hanging began as a piece of Radiance that I had done in a kumo shibori pattern. The circles were perfectly suited for the flower. I painted this piece with Neopaque and a little bit of Lumiere. I am very happy with the soft hand that the fabric retained. I really love layering the shapes and blending the colors.

Here is the back of the piece. I do not want to stitch in the flowers themselves, so I have added pieces of wool batting to fill out the shapes. I hand baste the wool on, and then after I have quilted the entire piece I will remove it. In this way I will not have to get the piece wet. One of my students had done some marking on a small silk piece, and she spritzed with with water to remove the marks. The moisture relaxed the fiber and caused it to stretch out. It never resumed its shape. I haven't had this problem, but it never hurts to be careful.

Here is a full shot of the wall hanging before quiting. I still need to do something to the borders, but I have not decided what as yet. I think that I would like to put a little reddish shade in the border to neutralize the teal. What fun!

Juried Into Museum Exhibition: Illuminating the Darkness

Illuminating the Darkness, 32" x 42"

My fiber art piece was juried into the Redwood Art Association's 53rd  Spring Juried Exhibition at the Morris Graves Museum of Art this week. There were 68 pieces in all media selected out of the 130 that were submitted. The juror was Lisa Archambeau who is a gallery consultant for the Caldwell Snyder Gallery that operates in San Francisco and St. Helena, and President of the Alliance for Contemporary Art, a non-profit arts organization. She has almost 20 years of museum and gallery experience including 10 years in New York City with institutions such as The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art and The Pace Gallery NYC. The RAA board of directors always does a wonderful job of hiring jurors for their exhibitions.

For those of you who are interested I have included a tutorial on the process. I  thoroughly enjoy working myself into a corner and then engaging my creative problem solving skills to extricate myself from the mess that I often find myself immersed in. Perhaps you will find something of use in the information that I have provided .
This was the beginning. It is a piece of hand dyed ultra sateen dyed with Procion MX dyes.

I wanted to overpaint the piece to develop a focal point, so I made an overlay with a piece of plastic and a Sharpie to define the areas a little more clearly.

This is the piece after painting with Setacolor. I wanted to create more depth than in the original by adding more value to the existing color. The lighter light hues, darker darks, and some brown thrown in as a medium helped me to accomplish this. 

I used Kerlix dyed with Setacolor, pictured on the right, to add more texture and dimension to the piece. I then laid it over the fabric and began pulling the threads until enough of the fabric underneath was exposed. Kerlix is the stuff that they wrap around plaster casts on broken limbs. It's like cheesecloth, but it is more open. I held it in place with painter's tape while I hand couched it.

This was one of my most difficult problem areas that I didn't know what to do with. It ended up being my favorite part. Those pins are 3/4" to give you an idea of the scale.






Machine Quilting:  I wanted to share some of my most valuable tips on machine quilting with you. I photograph my piece, load it into Photoshop, and print it in gray scale on regular paper. I then draw directly on the printout to audition all of my ideas for quilting. If your pen or pencil marks are hard to see, print a lighter copy of the image to work on.

This is especially helpful for large scale pieces. As I am a longarm quilter I often do this with my customer's large landscape or or art quilts so that I have a map of where I am going.