Tag: hand dyed

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Next Step in an Experiment

Thursday already?  Time sure flies while slow stitching, strange how that works.  I have made two quick mini collages to go on the damask napkin that is my latest experiment in using these vintage textiles.  Here they are:

The collage on the left was stitched by machine with some hand embroidered details.  The one on the right was entirely hand stitched.  I think that it is time for me to measure and cut the batting and backing for the napkin base.  I am going to cut the backing fabric a generous two inches larger than the finished size.  My plan is to fold over the extra backing fabric to the inside of the quilt sandwich, then quilt to secure all of it.

There won’t be much room for error, and I am a bit nervous, since I want to use this technique on a much larger piece.  At this point, I need to just go ahead and try it and quit rethinking the process.  Find out if I succeed on Tuesday.  I need to come up with a catchy title for this piece too…

 

 

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Working Through Challenges

Using vintage linens and working in a collage style presents some challenging problems.  Certain traditional quilt methods of assembly just don’t work well with my creative visions and materials of choice.  If you’ve visited my booth at a quilt show, you’ll know that I sell quite a few dyed vintage damask table linens.  Many of them have a nice finished edge that I want to preserve while using them in a collage.  I am still trying to come up with an easy way to bind all the layers and not lose that finished edge.  Today, I am embarking on my latest attempt at this quest.

Starting with a medium size dyed damask napkin that will be the base of the collage, I picked out a couple of smaller squares on which to stitch scrap compositions.  These smaller squares will be similar to the 4 x 4” square that I have been featuring in previous posts.  The next step was to select scraps to add to the little squares:

I pulled out more scraps than I’ll be able to use in this project, but that’s OK – it is good to have more to choose from during the early planning stages.  Next, I started working with the wool square.  Several little scraps jumped out at me, and the placement of them came together quickly.

Notice that all the pieces are separate from each other.  How would they look with a piece of fabric underneath (other than the background) that connected them together?

I like the second version, the additional piece of fabric adds another layer of interest.  I’m going to take a look at some trims and funky yarns to add, as I think I’m ready to start stitching this one over the next couple of days.

I invite you to follow along in my quest over the next week or so, will this work out, or be a dead end?  This will also be another look into my creative process.

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Murky Colors on a Sweltering Summer Day

I started a fabric dye session yesterday, and by dusk I was ready to call it quits with dyeing.  It is a physically demanding task, and with each year, I feel it more and more in my muscles and joints.  It is has also been frustrating for me not to be able to get the fabrics I’d really like, not yet anyway.  I’m still using mostly vintage damask tablecloth and other vintage textiles.  Today, I began the rinse out, and oh my, I take back all the thoughts I had yesterday:

Tea Leaves

 

Brushed Steel

 

Black, Brushed Steel and Tea leaves Blend

I also have three different batches of black to rinse out, another day!  My back needs a break before it feels broken.

The Brushed Steel and Tea Leaves have a habit of separating, resulting in some surprising random effects.  The color separation is something that I find attractive.  It adds visual interest and lends ideas for embellishing – think along the lines of trying to find images in the clouds.

Off to do some more laundry… I can’t wait to see this batch of fabric dried and ironed.

 

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Unfinished Business

I still have not made any progress on the pieces for fast approaching deadlines.  The 3-D entry is not going to happen, at least not for its intended show.  I’ll keep working on it and use it for some other show entry.  I have not made a single stitch yet on the two Upcycle entries.  I’ve simply allowed myself to be distracted by other ongoing projects, so at least I am getting back into a creative groove.  One of the things that I have made progress on are some of my mini quilt collages:

The fabrics in these three “sketches” are scraps of my own hand dyes in the “Madri Gras” color blend.  The one on the far left was stamped with antique wallpaper pattern stamps and acrylic paint, then embellished with funky yarns.  The center one has strips of silk scraps to create a very skewed frame to the composition, then I seed stitched all over to secure the top two layers before pillowcase binding it.  On the far right, trial with using embroidery stitches to create textural interest in the solid colored shapes.  I still need do some final machine quilting in all of them.

I have no idea what I will work on this weekend, and I think that I am going to scale back to posting once a week until I get some issues worked out with the back end of this site.