Machine

It's Been Awhile


So begins a new series I've titled "Fields". So far the goal is 18 large pieces and 12 small pieces. I'm using earth pigments, charcoal, conte, and mixed media pm cotton and silk fabrics this time around with machine stitching as the finishing touch.

I've been dragging my feet to start on this series, as it is the first series where I won't be using natural dyes. Fabric painting begins tonight. Photos coming soon.

WIP - Bjorkboda

Found while cleaning my sewing studio this afternoon, buried in a pile o UFO's (Unfinished Objects or in my case Projects!)


I remember now why I put it away, I started attaching stuff to the surface and then got stuck.  I may have to rip it all off now and try something different.


The techniques I used to create this piece are covered in my eBook Rust and Clay Dyeing which can be purchased here.  

Cutting Stencils


Cutting stencils, finally, with my Silhouette Cameo and it's harder than it looks.  Well it would have been easier if I had gone out to Silhouette's YouTube page first and watched a few of the beginning videos, ie like how to cut my very own designs.


So far I ended up with a ten inch pear, that was supposed to be six inches but I finally got the design board figured out, thanks to Silhouette's videos.


This would actually make a great mask on a silk screen for yardage, once it's cut out of stencil film and I may just have to do this.  See this post over at my old blog The Natural Surface on using stencils on fabric with paints, natural dyes, and more.


Stitching Again


It feels good to be stitching once again, whilest awaiting layers of drying paint to cure.  This piece is about 8x10 inches in size, machine stitched with green Aurifil thread, wool batting; I also used my Black Birds in Tree Stencil with acrylic paint onto fabric painted cotton cloth.


I shall stitch a few of the birds next, to bring them forward, and add a few beads and then this piece will be done.


WIP's - Sandstone Series

 
This Sandstone piece has been in a bucket for the past decade, every once in awhile I dig it out and stare it it on my design wall (in my case my design wall is a bookshelf).  Today's it's day, I've decided to seperate the two pieces of fabric and overdye the top piece with kutch, and maybe some kamala.
 

Detail, the reddish fabric is cochineal and rust dyed silk fabric.


Another Sandstone WIP that has been languishing in the storage bucket for the past 10+ years.  It's mostly hand stitching on the surface, tonight I have plans to add some machine stitching and possibly a few layers of constructed cloth.  This piece is small enough to experiment with pushing the surface.

Organizing Fabric Stash Leads to Found Samples!


Believe it or not the fabric in that suitcase really is organized!  While I was searching for piece of unfinished silk fabric I found my long lost stitched sample I had been looking for late last fall. 


Due to the sample of the rights disappearance, deep into a pile of folded fabrics, I made another sample to pratice some machine stitching on.  Both sample pieces consist of cochineal dyed cotton fabrics and are machine stitched.  The left sample, however, has been surfaced further using fabric paints, oil bar, and ink.  I'm thinking the sample on the right could use a good dose of color as well.


Practice No. 2


Well since I lost my orginal practice piece I whipped up another one this evening. 
Cochineal dyed cotton fabric, machine stitched, wool quilt batting, aurifil threads.


I couched down more sisal to pratice some stitches with, this "x" shape I bobbin stitched using aurifil wool thread.  Above view is the back side of the sample that was facing upwards when stitching. 


Top side after bobbin stitching, the aurifil wool thread doesn't like to feed through the top on my 6500S so I bobbin stitch with it instead.


I've couched down more sisal since this shot was taken, now I will experiment with hand stitching over the sisal and then machine stitching over the hand stitching to see which effect I prefer.  This all in anticipation of finishing Bjorkboda.



WIP - Bjorkboda


I'm almost ready for the hand stitching, I filled in a bit more of the piece with machine stitching to reinforce it's structure.


The forgotten dye note text now dealt with which resulted in more brown scraggly stitching being added to the piece in a random manner. 


Some verticles.


I've started thinking about the cottonwoods and how stoic they look when shrouded in the ice fog of deep winter.