Scottish Teasels

Sue's "Fiber Visions" art quilt group recently issued a challenge to create a small art quilt based on a photograph.  Options were varied:  print the original photo on fabric and embellish it in some way, recreate the photo using any techniques desired, use the photo as inspiration for your design, or interpret the photo in some other way.  Sue chose to work with the photo below from her spring trip to Scotland. These teasels (a type of thistle) were photographed in the gardens of the governor's palace in the village of Culross.  For any Outlander fans, Culross is a 17th century village used to represent the village of Crainsmuir in the Starz drama.  A number of scenes were filmed in various rooms of the palace.   

Sue chose to recreate the photo as closely as possible, making a 9 x 12 version and mounting it on an artist's canvas.  The idea behind the photo was to create a Thermofax screen of the teasels, which was already in process when the challenge was issued.  So that meant deciding on the techniques for the background of the piece.  First was to find fabric for the gold of the wall and the texture of the stones.

On the left is the commercial fabric used for the background.  The texture was right, but the color was not, so golden pineapple paint by Profab was sponge painted over it to change the color.

Likewise, the fabric used for the rocks needed to be a bit darker so both gray and black were sponge painted over the original.

Starting on a base of muslin that was cut 3 inches bigger than the 9 x 12 finished size, the upper portion was layered with the gold and the lower part was layered with black, so that the space showing between the rocks of the wall would be dark.  A printout of the photo was used to create a template for the rock wall section.  After applying a fusible product to the fabrics, the pieces were cut out and fused to the background.   Adding a thin layer of felt as batting, free motion machine stitching was added to secure the rocks and create texture for the moss and tree branch.  Then the teasels could be added.

The teasels were also done as fusible applique, printed first on a brown fabric, then fusible applied and cut out.  The green leaves are also applique and were arranged at the same time as the teasels.  Since the extra fabric would be folded around the canvas, there was no need to extend the rocks beyond the 9 x 12 image size.  Additional stitching secured the teasels and leaves and added the curlicues and texture to the screen prints. Then the piece was mounted on the canvas.

On the left is the original photo and the art piece on the right.  Not an exact duplicate, but a close interpretation.  Sue is pleased with the result and plans to put it in a black drop-in frame that should set it off nicely.   

The teasels is a new Thermofax screen that you can find in our Etsy shop if you would like to use it in your own artwork.

Inspired By....a Pair of Earrings?

Sue has written before about her art quilt bee and the challenges that are issued every other month.  In May, the challenge issued for June was to create a quilt inspired by a photo from another participant.  Each person's photo was passed 3 times to the right and after the last pass, that was the photo your quilt would be based on.  Most were calendar or magazine photos.  Sue, however, ended up with something a little different.  What she got was a pair of earrings that was passed around.

Some might consider this more challenging than a photo, but Sue was actually glad to have a shape to work with, especially since she knew there was a piece of fabric in her stash with a similar design.  Plus, she knew it was a shape she could work with for making a thermofax screen.  So she proceeded to make a screen using the image in 3 different sizes - to incoporate one of the elements of design - repetition.

The screens were printed on color catchers, a non-woven fiber product used in laundering to pick up excess dye.  As you see in the 3 pieces in the photo, they are varying shades.  We use them in washing hand dyed fabrics so you end up with a variety of colors.  Another plus is that the edges stay clean and crisp.  Next was figuring out an arrangement on the background fabric.

After doing some free-motion quilting on the background the prints were cut down and stitched in place.  Then Sue decided some embellishment was called for.  Each of the prints was overlaid with an embellishment thread or yarn that was zigzagged in place.  Then it was time for some hand stitching.

First was adding some more color, orange, to highlight the shapes on the background fabric that echoed the shape of the earrings.  These were stitched with a back stitch.  Finally, the last addition - which is still a work in progress - is adding random hand stitches (ricing, or chicken scratch) to the background.  Below is a close up of the start of that stitching.

This stitching will be used to fill up the background between the various motifs on the fabric.  The thread is a variegated perle cotton which Sue thinks adds texture and interest and a little more stability to the piece.  Time consuming, yes, but worth the effort.  And it's only a 12" square.  She also thinks this piece might be good for mounting on an art canvas as the final presentation.  We'll post another picture when its finished.

Black-Eyed Susans

The Quilting Arts magazine June/July issue arrived this week and anticipation was high to see Sue's quilt published in the Reader's Challenge.  Imagine her surprise to see it on page 2 along with the Editor's Notes! 

As Vivika notes in the caption, it reminded her of the flowers growing along roadsides in Vermont.  Coincidentally, this little piece was inspired by a photo taken in neighboring New Hampshire!

After finding the great batik background, Sue set out to create a Buds, Blossoms and Blooms quilt of Black-Eyed Susans.  The first step was creating the flowers using Thermofax screen fusible appliques.  There were 2 different flower images made in different sizes for variety.

The flowers were printed, fusible web was applied to the back and then they were cut out individually.

Placement was decided on the background.

Stems were added (also fused).

The top was backed with a fusible fleece for batting and machine stitching was the next step to secure all the flowers and stems.

There was no backing as yet because hand embroidery was the final step and Sue didn't want that stitching to show on the back.  Here is the start of lots of French knots!

And this is the finished quilt, which also includes embroidery stitches on the stems and other parts of the background.  A bright and cheery piece to celebrate summer!

Queen Ann's Lace

This is the description of her quilt that Sue sent to Quilting Arts magazine:
"I love the delicate, ethereal nature of Queen Ann's lace and enjoy using it in my work. Several stages of bloom are printed here, layered over a hand-dyed background and prints of grasses and a crackled texture. All the Thermofax(r) screens used are made from original photos. There are also words written in the background that evoke  the symbolism of the blossoms - bloom, blossom, grow, evolve, reach, unfold. Created with hand-dyed fabric, Thermofax screen printing, and machine quilting."

The words listed above were written first on the hand dyed fabric using a sharpie.  Then the crackle texture was printed, first in a transparent red and then metallic gold.  This is what the crackle screen looks like.  The screen in the Etsy shop is slightly different, but this one can also be ordered by sending a convo, and saying you want the one in the blog post (same size & price).

Next, some grasses were added to the background.  The curly grass screen is also available in the shop.  Then the queen ann's lace was added in various stages of bloom.  There are 4 different screens used in different sizes and variations.  (Two of these are in the Etsy shop.)

Sue briefly considered adding a decorative trim as embellishment at the bottom of the piece, but then decided against it.

It was a good thing, because when the backing was added and a quarter inch was lost all the way around for the seam allowance, it would have covered up too much of the queen ann's lace.  Below is the finished piece once again. The machine quilting mostly follows the lines of the imagery of the crackle, grass and queen ann's lace - click on the photo for a larger view.

Buds, Blossoms and Blooms

Months ago, back in the midst of winter, Quilting Arts magazine announced a Reader's Challenge called Buds, Blossoms and Blooms.  Always up for a challenge, and having had 1 previous submission selected for publication in the December/January issue, Sue decided to submit a quilt for this challenge too.  Actually, having 2 ideas that she couldn't decide between, she decided to make and submit both if they turned out the way she envisioned.  So she set about making two 10" square quilts as specified by the magazine.

Long story short,  at the beginning of February the finalists were announced and Sue found out that both of her quilts were selected!  It was noted that only one might be published in the magazine, while the other could be published online.  Well, the June/July issue is now published (though it has yet to arrive in the mailbox) and Sue just discovered the online extra publications at Quilting Daily and the quilt called Queen Ann's Lace has been published there!  While the link is provided, unless you are a member and sign in, you won't see the picture.  However, you CAN see it here!

In the next post we'll share a few pictures of the creation process.  And hopefully the magazine will arrive in the next few days, at which time we'll share the second piece.  Stay tuned!

May Flowers

The art quilt bee that Sue belongs to issues a challenge every other month to make a 12" square quilt that interprets a theme.  The theme for May was "flowers".  Here's her story of how she created the finished piece.

I started with an approximately fat quarter yard piece of fabric that was already printed with the birds on a branch screen.  I intended to use it for another challenge, but didn't get to it before the deadline, so decided to revise the plan to fit the flowers theme.

First I overprinted with the cherry blossom screen.  I made small appliques from a hand dyed osnaburg fabric to fuse over the birds that were part of the original bird on a branch print. The part on the right side was extra that I didn't need.  I also printed some single cherry blossoms around the perimeter, keeping to the size for the 12" square dimension.  The cherry blossom branch was printed in white with some pink blended in; the single blossoms were printed in pink.   The extra fabric was trimmed off.

With the printing and birds fused in place, the next step was adding a border.  I had purchased a batik that I thought was the perfect border fabric, but because the color was so close to the purple background, it needed something to separate the two.

I used a darker blue batik to make a flange around the center block that gave some definition and separation between it and the border.  Then it was time for some quilting.  I layered it with a fusible batting but not backing because I intended to do some hand stitching and didn't want the back side to show.  But first I did some free motion quilting with the machine.

This close-up shows the machine stitching outlining the branches and blossoms, and also the start of the hand stitching.  I used a darker pink floss on the larger blossoms and a lighter pink on the smaller ones in a star shape.  Then I added french knots at the end of each point. 

I also did some stitching to add definition to the birds.  After adding the backing, label and sleeve, it was finished.

New in the Shop

We are working on adding some new screens to the Etsy shop.  There are 3 new so far, with a spring theme in mind.  We've got an apple blossom, a dogwood blossom, and some water ripples that are great for background texture.

The apple blossom is available in 3 sizes which can be purchased individually, or as a set at a savings over the individual screens.

 The dogwood is the state flower of Virginia, so adding this to our collection is long overdue.

This image of water ripples is great for adding a subtle overall background texture, especially in a color that is not a high contrast to the fabric.  Below are some photos of how the screens look when printed.

Both the apple and dogwood blossoms are printed in white (even though the dogwood looks pale pink in this photo).

In the image below, the water screen was printed twice with discharge.  The first time was with a wedgewood blue color, which was hard to see.  The second time was with a plain discharge, so it was just taking color out, not replacing it with another color.  That provided a more visible texture.  If you're not familiar with discharge, it is a process for taking color out of fabric.  It can be done with bleach or products containing bleach, but does require something to stop the bleaching process, such as Anti-Chlor.  For this piece, I used deColourant discharge paste - it is made in plain and colored versions.  I like this product because it has a less offensive odor (more citrusy) and doesn't require the stop-action product.  It does require heat (ironing) to complete the discharge process.

If you're looking for something new to print, check out the designs available in the shop.

New Printing Enthusiasts!

In our thermofax screen printing class yesterday at Artistic Artifacts we created a new group of printing enthusiasts. One student does painting on silk, another works mainly with mixed media, others were more in the fabric/quilting arena, but all found ways that this "addictive" technique can be incorporated into their creative process.   We had plenty of time for printing, experimenting with discharge and thickened dye, and all produced successful prints. What an enjoyable way to spend the day!

We started out with just muslin and tried various paints to get the feel for printing. Then our students pulled out other fabrics they brought and got busy with their own choices of colors and images.

 Betty had this beautiful dyed (or painted?) piece that she printed with our bird on a branch screen.

 Another birds in a tree screen printed on a commercial "hand dye".

Jan had this interesting fabric from another workshop that she used the sewer cover screen on with a similar paint color to add another layer (the partial squares are the screen print).

Judy used the circles screen to add more interest to a commercial print.

Elizabeth demonstrates how to tape a screen. We also demonstrated how to use discharge and thickened dye.

 This is one of Debbie's discharge pieces.

 Betty produced this lovely subtle discharge on her piece.

 Nancy's discharge on a commercial batik produced this lovely pale pink image of the birds hiding among the leaves of the print.

Kate is very happy with this piece of a yellow to orange gradation on which she printed a seed pod in orange on the yellow to orange section and a butterfly on the orange to red section.  Can't wait to see what she does with it!   Most of these screens are available in our Etsy shop; if you don't see them there, feel free to contact us via email through our profile.

On a Roll

This retreat weekend has been very productive.  Today I worked on 3 projects.  I did some hand stitching on yesterday's project, completed a wall art piece, and assembled some squares and circles for a table runner.

 Above I did some stitching in a dark pink in the center of the cherry blossoms.  Below I started stitching the smaller blossoms in a lighter pink, but then decided to stop and save it for later; it's a good TV project.

 Next I had a print that I planned to mount on a canvas frame covered with fabric. The canvas was already covered; I just had to do some stitching on the screen print and stitch it to the canvas.

Then after lunch I was ready to tackle something new.  When packing my supplies, I spied a pack of 5" squares and another packet of pre-cut circles in my fabric cabinet.  They looked like they would play well together, so I threw them in the bag.

Here's what I ended up with.

 The circles are fused to the squares with MistyFuse.  I think it will make a very cheerful spring/summer table runner.  Haven't decided yet if it will have borders and how I'm going to stitch it - a work in progress.  All in all, a very productive 2 1/2 days.