Favorites at the quilt show....photo heavy

Notice:   I had written this post for today on Friday night.  Saturday we went to Charlotte to help Deana do some yard work.  I managed to step into a hole ,caught my foot, and did a header.  Result is a broken nose, and a broken humerus--left arm bone--at the shoulder.  We are home now and managed to get thru the night ok.  Thankful that it was not worse, but Sir Old Man has his hands full for 6 weeks, as I can do almost nothing by myself.  
  Please understand if I am slow at getting to emails to reply.  I will be following your blogs.....likely few posts of my own for now.  One hand makes for slow going.  

I had great plans to be really good and not spend too much at the vendors at the local quilt show.  I am sure you know the feeling.  We all have our weaknesses.
   But first just a few quilts that  gave me some inspiration. When I go to a quilt show, I look for color, design, or technique elements that  evoke a feeling or just plain make me stop.   There were wonderful traditional quilts, but these are the ones that gave me inspiration.

 
This one was a zinger!  The colors were so bright and cheerful, and lots of small details to delight the eye.
And the quilting was full of feathers and swirls.  I loved it.

Here's the detail shot of the technique.....raw edge applique!  Layer upon layer stitched down, much like the technique used in the French Roses quilt.  

Of course this caught my eye....color and movement in this one and a story.  The flowers represent the flowers the quilter transplanted to her new garden here from Mississippi.  I really like the pieced background she used.    Since I have a love of day lilies, I looked a little closer.

The flowers are stitched by machine with a tight satin stitch that gives a raised appearance to the edge. Very nicely done. 

Striking and graphic background done in batiks in this one.  I liked the shimmering effect  of the color arrangement.    I have a stack of fabrics that I have been saving/hording/holding on to for a while waiting for an idea to find me. This one just may be it.

This small landscape was glorious.  A very beautiful sunrise over the mountains.  So how did she achieve that effect?

Lots of strips and lots of values blended together.  This detail shot shows how the reflection of the sun on the water was created with raw edge (again!) appliqued shapes.  It was also densely quilted with wavy lines.

Another landscape---but this is heavily thread painted.  I was over the top studying it!

This is just one of the detail shots I took.  I felt like I could just walk right into the woods.  Oh, boy......I may need to spend just a bit more than planned at the vendors.

This just took me by surprise.  Jean is one of my very favorite people and I was blown away with this wall hanging.  She grows  700 or so named iris, and some historical ones, too.  She did a beautiful job at color selection.  I so love the off set layout.  

So exactly how bad was I?  Pretty bad....considering I only had needles and thread on my planned list to purchase. Ha!!!  Batiks....3 yards...."But, honey, they were on show special."  And 3 books....applique and thread painting.   "But the applique book was used and has great ideas in it."
   I sense a change is coming in what I have been doing.  You can count on a whole lot more thread painting and applique.    I have been inspired.
Happy stitching.  

Thread painting vignettes

I wanted to test out a couple of stabilizers to use with thread painting....I'm in that mode right now for something small.   By far my favorite is Totally Stable Solvy.  It is an iron on and tear away type, and for really small projects doesn't require hooping.  There is still a small amount of distortion from the concentration of thread, and that just seems to come with the technique. 
  Machine is set for free motion stitching with a #14 top stitch needle.  I like to use decorative threads with a sheen, like sulky or embroidery threads.  Go slow to avoid breaking and snapping the thread.

  I chose a couple of  pieces of sun dyed fabric to experiment on.   I lightly penciled in a few lines to get started.  The stabilizer was ironed to the back of the fabric.  No hoop, just hands.  Just be sure to keep the fabric flat against the bed and the machine and not loft it.
  First, I put in some green  straight stitches for arching stems and then began to lay in the color for the mound/rock.....whatever it is.  On the rock I used a zig zag stitch to put on the first layer of color.  I worked across the area keeping the stitched rows parallel to the base. 

Then I changed to a slightly darker thread color and began to fill in along the base and one side.

I am using a zig zag stitch....but I am moving side to side (not back and forth towards me). This type of motion will fill in quickly and blends well.

Extra green stems, darker grasses at the base, a few red buds....all free motion stitches either straight or zig zag.    Russ says it looks like an island in the sky. 

  One more...just for the season.  I began with a penciled in  shape, filled with base color, and then added extra colors and details.  I got very little distortion on this one.  The stabilizer tore away easily and left no residue. 
  I think I'll try a few more...just don't ask what I will do with these.....just practice for now.
Happy stitching.

Making curves

Add a curve to your border......or create a landscape with curves.   I've said  "I don't do curves."  Guess what....I  was wrong.  Gasp!   I found a couple of techniques/ways  that I adapted to accomplish curves that work for me.

For Boogie Woogie Star, the curved border is sewn, piece to piece.  In the small  autumn landscape, the curves are cut, turned under and top stitched in place. 

   The tricky part is getting the curve to match...right?  If I free form cut the curve for a border piece, how do I make the inside match?  One thing to remember, your mind/hand have an innate curve direction that they will automatically create.  Huh?  Try drawing a curve line.  Do it again.  Bet they probably start and curve in the same direction....that's your innate direction.   Look at the autumn landscape....see my innate curve direction  in at least 4 places.  I learned that I needed to draw my curves before I cut to get the variety of movement.   So here's how I create a curve.

Imagine that I want to add a curved border.....the red print is the block or quilt top, and the yellow is the border to add.  Slide the yellow under the edge of the block/top so that there is enough over lap on both pieces for the curve. 

Note...Update:  Be sure both fabrics are right side up.

  If not you will get the same curve on both fabrics.  You want opposing curves that match.

  Then I take tailor's chalk....what ever marking tool you prefer....and draw a gentle curved line, top to bottom.  Gentle curve means avoid mountaintops and deep valleys.  If the curve is too steep or wavy....I just brush off the mark and try again.  That is why I like tailor's chalk for this. 

Now be brave and cut on the marked curve.   The think slice of red on the top of the yellow is discarded.  Ditto for the slice of yellow under the red.  That should leave you with the 2 pieces--the block/top and the yellow border to add.  And they will match!

  Decision time now.  Do you want a sewn seam or a top stitched one?   For a sewn seam, make a couple of marks across the cut on both fabrics.  This will be your points to align when sewing.  The yellow flips over the red block/top and sew using 1/4" seam.  You will only be able to line up and sew  an inch or so at a time before you need to stop (needle down) raise the pressure foot and adjust the edges to match. Stitch and repeat until the side is sewn.  Press and repeat for the other sides.

    Rather do a top stitched border?   Spray starch is your friend for this.

Be sure to use a dry iron....to avoid  introducing steam that can cause stretching.  Starch will add body for this technique.  

  Turn under 1/4"  on one of the pieces.  In this example I turned under the red block/top piece.  Again dry iron and press.  Don't drag the iron along the edge, it will cause stretching. 

Because the curves are gentle and not steep, the 1/4" is easy to turn under without clipping the seam allowance.  Clip the mountian top curves if needed to achieve a smooth edge. 

  Now overlap and stitch in place.  Use a straight stitch or decorative edge stitch if you like. 

Repeat for each side of the block. 

  That's how I make curves manageable for me.  Try a few and figure out the best way for you. 

Happy stitching.

Think I took a wrong turn

Somehow I got lost on this one.  I was inspired by the  color palette of the month at 3 Creative Studios.  I intended to create a beach scene at sunset, took a wrong turn,  and ended up in the desert!  
  I started with the fabrics to match the given palette.  So far. so good.  I cut a muslin foundation to sew the strips to.  I thought it was fine until the fourth strip was added.  I took the wrong turn here.  I continued with straight strips.  It would have turned out different I think, if I had gone on with curved pieces instead.  But since I hate the seam ripper, I continued on to the desert scene.   I do like the half  frame border that off sets the scene.  So, I will probably finish it up, as a lesson to learn.  Just so you know.
   Insight:  Not every thing turns out the way it was begun.  Live with it and learn.   A good life lesson in this small project.

Details

Over at Quilter in the Gap  there is an interesting survey posted about blogs.  One of her questions was about what you like to see on blogs.  The biggest thing I like is details.....inspiration, creative process, share problems and fixes, things that work and what doesn't.  Seeing a finished quilt is wonderful and fun, but I am very interested in the process--the journey to get to the end.  That's really why I began to blog.  I am very analytical---my clinical training, I guess---and  how I get to the end is as important to me as the finished result.  Plus, I never want to stop learning ---I might miss something special.  I know I keep doing variations of  watercolors---that is my niche---by working in value, and  I have enjoyed the journey to get here.  And there are lots more avenues in value to explore.  So, on  to a journal project I worked on last night.
The process:

  I played around with a photo I found on line and managed to get a muted effect like a painting. Picasa is a great free program, and you can get some neat effects.   I printed a small version of  it out  onto a scrap of Printed Treasures.  I save all the extra pieces of PT  and this piece was just about 3 inches by 4 inches.  To get good placement when I printed,  I first printed (in B&W)  on paper and then taped the scrap of PT on top of the image.  Then I ran it thru the printer again!

  Then I went thru a box or two of scraps, looking for value that would blend or match the colors in the photo. 

Here is a close up of the photo and the fabrics I chose to surround it with.  I decided to just use straight lines when attaching the extra fabrics.  The book on blending with photos teaches the technique of extending the curves and lines of the photo onto the quilt.  The values and colors  of the extra fabrics are very close.   But since this is so small and I was just using small bit and scraps, I decided to just try to fool the eye with value---straight lines or not.  A couple of pieces of fabric were just perfect, and others close.  I fused a clump of tree (from a printed scenic fabric) on the right to extend the photo out.    This section measured about 6 " by   6"....too small, need more fabric.

  I couldn't find a perfect fabric to extend the sky,  so a ended up with a scrap of my dyed fabric from last summer.  And just a couple of angles strips on the bottom and it begins to look like a landscape.

  Final :   I did find a piece I liked to create a border, or half of it anyway.  It's on the right and bottom...the colors are good for this.  It reminded me of barn siding.  Still not large enough,  need more fabric to finish this off. 

  The last border piece is a "brush stroke" type neutral....I was getting tired of hunting thru scraps.  A narrow side piece and a wider top.   I  am  going to ignore the wonky edges because I was watching Larry, the cable guy on TV and laughing so hard.  What's a crooked edge when you having a good belly laugh. 
  If you haven't checked out all the journal quilts on Flickr--click here.  There are all types of techniques and ideas used.  Great talent and inspiration in this album.
Happy stitching.

Just in time for the season

A little seasonal landscape....Starry Night, just in time.
I played around with the border idea on this one, by crazy patching the leftovers onto a foundation.  It was too overwhelming to use on all sides, so I split it and tried to place it so the scene extended into the border.  
 

 I ran across this seasonal "art" and had to grab it to share....
I do love hot chocolate!
Happy stitching.

Winter scene?

I worked on the Winter landscape....can you tell I was slightly under the influence of muscle relaxants?  Or maybe the wind was whipping across the valley!  Anyway,  I picked the dark blue for the border and have an extra part to trim and cut that will also be part of the border.  I need to wait a day or so to get it put together.  There is a reason for the warning on certain drugs --- "Do not operate machinery while taking this medication."  Don't ask me how I know.  
  I pulled a muscle in my side again this week, and am paying dearly for it.  The first time it was minor;   this time I did some damage.  I have sore ribs and spasms that feel like fireworks going off in my side and back.  At least I was able to lie down last night and get some sleep. 
Hope to be back to stitching in a few days.  I am having to be content with sorting strips for now.

Happy stitching.

Clearing off the design wall

I finished up the quilting on the mountains, and just need to get the binding on.  And all those small landscapes were hogging the rest of the design wall.  So I managed to get the beach seascape quilted and the borders on the rest of them.  I tried adding rocks to extend into the border and just didn't like it that way.  I gave up and just quilted it to pieces!  I do like the "barn wood" type fabric I used for the border, as it has a bit of turquoise in it to pick up  the water color.   This one goes to Steve and Doreen....Sun rises over Cadillac Mtn in Maine.

These are the  Spring, Summer, and Fall small landscapes.  I ended up using fabric markers on the Spring one--to shade and blend the strip fabric that looked like a road.  then I thought it needed a fence on the fall side of the road.....too tiny pieces.
Summer finished off better, I think.  I extended the foreground of rocks and some more flowers into the border.
Fall looks good in the photo, but trying to come up with the right reds and angles to make it work was a challenge.  Finally, I realized everything was on the bottom with just a tiny strip for the hills and then the lake.  I added a second layer on the far side of the lake and got the depth I needed.  I changed to a different piece for the very bottom---leaves of different greens and some reds and was able to blend a tree into it.  I was happy with how it ended up.  I have not done the Winter season yet, but I did thread paint a few small pine and fir trees for it....maybe. 
Part of this exercise for the 4 seasons was to understand the choice of fabrics and shades of colors will convey an impression of the time of year.  Spring colors are lighter and more yellow based---my choices were a bit off in this one.  Summer colors are deeper and brighter greens and the shadows are stronger because of the sun.  Fall colors, well guess we just look out the window right now.....rich reds and golds and tans. 
Insight:  Do the exercises--like them or not---you might learn something in the process.
I bought the book to learn, and I would be wasting my $ if I only looked at the photos.  Time invested was small in comparison to what I gained.  So I will get the Winter season done. 

My evening stitching project of the 3-D bow-ties is ready to be put together....all 20 blocks.  I only made a small dent in my 3 1/2 " square stash.  But back into the closet they go, because I am ready to begin sorting through 2 1/2 " strips for the scrappy braid.  Stay tuned.
Happy stitching,

Small Landscapes are addicting!

The first practice piece  is now ready to finish off.  I am just turning the border to the back and stitching it in place rather than a full binding.  Looking at it now, I wish I had extended the base of the  tree into the border.  I'll try to remember that for another one.

I put together the Spring scene yesterday and added the details this morning.  One thing I did differently this time was to use a piece of muslin as a base to work on. I cut base  fabric 7" by 10".   I  just top stitched the pieces to the base.   I don't like the striped fabric....instead of looking like a plowed field, it looks like a road!  And I think the golden piece should have had a flatter curve.  The little fence worked great, even if the tiny sticks were a pain to work with.  I cheated and  used Pigma pens  to add shadows at the base of them,  and for the details on the lighthouse.

  

Then I pulled fabrics out for the Summer.  I decided that the sky was too stormy looking for a summer day and switched it to a lighter blue.  Matter of fact, I switched most of them and added water after all.   I'm not sure what details I will go back and add to this one.... maybe a boat on the lake, or a tree overhanging from the border once it is attached.  I ended with the road/path at the bottom, like you are over looking the whole scene.    

So exactly what have I learned from doing this practice..........

 Insights:

I need a base fabric to sew on.  It keeps the top fabric from shifting so much.

    Study photos for shading in the landscape.

    Add details, it gives the scene  life.

    These things are addictive....you can't make just one!

    And I need a new camera.  Mine died while trying to take these photos.  Or else I need to learn how to use Russ' better!

Tomorrow the Blogger's Quilt festival begins......

Happy Stitching....Debbie

Landscape/seascape

I spent yesterday morning cleaning house and the sewing room--with the intention of having the afternoon to do the second lesson of landscapes.  Of course, life interfered in the afternoon and I only got about an hour to work on this lesson.  So I tried last night to create the seascape.  Ugh!

For this lesson, I needed 7 strips of blue for the water/ocean, sky and sand. Six of strips for the water  were to have a curved side on one long edge that was pressed under 1/4".  The darkest strip had a  straight edge turned under for the horizon line.  Then the strips are  layered one on the other to blend the water from distant to near.   Sounds easy....here we go.

I took the seven layers for the water apart about three times.  The scene looked very flat and off.  Finally in frustration, I put it aside.  And with a fresh effort this morning, I put it together in a couple of hours.  I realized that to get the perspective right that the strips of water closer to the shore needed to be thin and tiny.  That meant that the strips of water in the distance were wider.  Re-read that.....it is the reverse of what I had been trying to do.  Usually, the nearer the object the larger it is and smaller objects appear farther away.   A couple of my strips were short pieces so I decided to add trees and a few rocks on the right side to make it work.  These I fused on top of everything and then stitched down. 

Here it is top-stitched, and a bit of thread painting--water around the rocks,  and trees in the distance.  This ended up 9" by 11" before I border it.  I may add a few larger boulders to overlap into the border at the shoreline....something to bring the eye to the foreground. 

Insight:  Creating perspective and distance in a seascape for  water is not easy.  Smaller layers of fabric create nearness in water.

Insight:  Fabrics for landscape are very diverse.  The fabrics I thought would work, were the worse. More depth is created by varying the texture of the fabric---batiks, printed designs and patterns. 

Lesson three in Accidental Landscapes is on seasons.  Hope it is easier that the seascape!
Anyone else working on this type of stuff?  Let me know.....

Happy Stitching....Debbie

Practice landscape

I did get the mountains pieced and  the border attached , and a table runner put together yesterday. So today was guilt-free play time.

This took about 2 1/2 hours to put together following the technique in Accidental Landscape.  I didn't have a real photo to work from, I  just followed the practice first lesson, and here's what I ended up with......

The tree, rocks and a few thread painted leaves were my idea and not part of the lesson.  I needed to push the landscape back and create some depth.  It is only 8 1/2" by 9 1/2 ".  Most of the fabrics I used were some of the hand painted ones I did this spring. 

So now, I have to choose a border.  They both have the colors of the scene, but I think the blue on the right does a better job.  The other one is too greyed for this. 

Lesson 2 tomorrow.....I hope.

 

Happy Stitching....Debbie

Landscape books and ideas

OK,  I've done a few landscape type wall hangings, but not like this!  It is from Accidental Landscapes by Karen Eckmeier, which is the book I got at the quilt show this past weekend.  And the photos in the book cause me to stop at the next vendor where I got this luscious fabric that is shaded  and blended in rich jewel tones. 
  I browsed thru the book on the way home and have read thru it twice!  Although,  I have a couple of other books about landscapes, I am very excited about this one.  These landscapes are small and simple and I don't have to fuse everything, or do paper piecing and work backwards.  That drives me crazy.  I can work from the front with curved lines and  use some thread painting too. 

I pulled out my inspiration folder of photos from magazines, calendars, and postcards.  I have been saving these for a while, sometimes just because I liked the scene and other times for the color combinations.  Anyway....guess what I found?

Lots of great photos that are just perfect for these small landscapes.  Beach scenes, and mountains, valleys, and back roads.  All with at least three layers that landscapes need, in some combination---sky, horizon line of trees, mountains, or water, and a foreground. 
So tonight I plan on pulling out the sketch pad and drawing  off a couple scenes.    Anyone want to do a landscape with me?

That means I have to finish piecing the mountains on the design wall----that's the pledge I made.  Finish off the big project before beginning a new one.  Better get to the sewing room.

Happy Stitching....Debbie