I think I may have discovered a solution to my problem, quilt batting that can be ironed onto the fabric. Since I had intended for it to have a backing this may work. My other option would be to use aquabond another nice option that won't ruin the hand of the fabric, or leave a residue.
Here's the brown paper bag I printed on that I'm thinking of stitching. Thank you Dale Anne for the stabilzer idea, though I may use a piece of felt instead but that definately solves the problem of the paper being destroyed in the process.
The rust dyed piece I printed on, I'll use it in something else. It needs a lot of something added to with it to give it the presence it needs.
We went to the prairie tonight to see the Buffalo, ok they're really bison but whatever! This piece has inspired me based on what I saw tonight. I may do the whole lenght, but I definately like this end of the fabric. Anyway, I started out printing on bronw paper bags and then moved to my rust dye fabrics, but I like this piece of dye painted (with natural dyes) crepe de chine silk the best. I'm just not sure if it'll do well for hand stitching, so I'm off to practice on a piece of scrap first.
Rust and Pigment on Paper
The coppery swirly line is metallic copper watercolor paint. The other colors are natural pigments that I mixed with soymilk. And rusted objects of course.
Kirry Toose
Recieved the latest issue of Quilting Arts magazine today, the artist profile is of Kirry Toose from Australia. Her work is incredibly interesting, difinately what I would consider art.
I notice that while folks were talking about the portrait challenge quilts (most have had their QA mag for over a week now) on the Quilt Art list not a single one of them mentioned this artist. I wonder if it confuses them?
I saw her work in a magazine recently but cannot find the link again. If I do I'll post it later. Google Kirry's name an many sites come up. I think the magazine was called "Fairie" Wonderful costumes and uses of fibers but some rather odd thinking. But I suppose for some living in a fairie world is stress relieving.
I notice that while folks were talking about the portrait challenge quilts (most have had their QA mag for over a week now) on the Quilt Art list not a single one of them mentioned this artist. I wonder if it confuses them?
I saw her work in a magazine recently but cannot find the link again. If I do I'll post it later. Google Kirry's name an many sites come up. I think the magazine was called "Fairie" Wonderful costumes and uses of fibers but some rather odd thinking. But I suppose for some living in a fairie world is stress relieving.
Needs better lighting, but I had already turned part of the studio lights off when I took this pic. Silk Crepe de Chine, natural earth pigments.
Pigment Painting detail. Silk Crepe de Chine.
Cochineal Dyed Frame
I dye painted this picture frame with Cochineal. I placed the extract into Everclear and obtained this brillant red. I have a few more things to do the frame then clear coat it and I"m done. This was just a test to see what else I could do. Right now I'm doing some rusting onto a piece of plywood that will be the back of a page I made for a handmade garden book called Weeds and Seeds.
I'm living in the wrong part of the country, once again. This is what I love to see and want to see on a daily basis, unfortuantely I live on a very busy intersection in town instead. The only thing that would make this scene any better would be buffalo, elk and other wild prairie animals roaming freely!
Whole Cloth Angst
To cut or not to cut? I'm leaning towards not cutting but am struggling with how to start into the piece. I guess I could just start stitching and see what happens? If I do stitch it it will be like my Blood River Canyon pieces, further down on the blog. There's that part of my brain that says it'll be alright and look great and the left side of my brain is fighting with that concept.
I have an idea that is perculating but there is also an intense fear that I will screw up the cloth, and this is a very good possibility I might add. While I have 10+ years of drawing, and painting,life sized people and animals, even taking a piece of fruit and freehand drawing it 10 times greater than life to exact detail and proportion, I have never done this on fabric before. And fabric does NOT behave like good quality drawing or print papers. My all time favorite paper is BFK Rives printing paper.
As for colors of quilting thread, the obvious choices would be those that fade into the background so that the background is the focal point. But there's just a very small hint of mauve to red here and there, if you know where to look. I'm thinking of playing this up a bit.
Meanwhile I'm trying to finish a piece, but it's not coming together, seems that I"m still missing an element. I believe I know what it is, I just need to go hiking in one of my favorite river beds.
The piece measures 42 x 36 inches, is cotton muslin, and was compost dyed under my favorite hackberry tree.
I have an idea that is perculating but there is also an intense fear that I will screw up the cloth, and this is a very good possibility I might add. While I have 10+ years of drawing, and painting,life sized people and animals, even taking a piece of fruit and freehand drawing it 10 times greater than life to exact detail and proportion, I have never done this on fabric before. And fabric does NOT behave like good quality drawing or print papers. My all time favorite paper is BFK Rives printing paper.
As for colors of quilting thread, the obvious choices would be those that fade into the background so that the background is the focal point. But there's just a very small hint of mauve to red here and there, if you know where to look. I'm thinking of playing this up a bit.
Meanwhile I'm trying to finish a piece, but it's not coming together, seems that I"m still missing an element. I believe I know what it is, I just need to go hiking in one of my favorite river beds.
The piece measures 42 x 36 inches, is cotton muslin, and was compost dyed under my favorite hackberry tree.
To cut or not to cut? Tis the question.
Callin in Sick
I'm out with the flu this week, I'm still getting caught up on orders and the like but I have to admit that all I want to do is sleep. Seems that about every hour or so I have to go lay down or my head will probably pop off of my shoulders. I've been spiking a fever for about three days and just now started coughing today. At least my back doesn't hurt anymore. This is probably the longest I've run a fever, except for that time I had menegitis.
The upside is I decided to try something new today, and it worked, the best part is it took all of four minutes! More about that later.
The upside is I decided to try something new today, and it worked, the best part is it took all of four minutes! More about that later.
Blood River Canyon Series and Life
It's interesting that one can work on a series, a new body of work with great joy and passion only to wake up the next day and hate it! I can do better, I know I can and I have, but I'm so short on time that the things I want to do I don't have time to do.
The tyranny of the urgent beckons.
The white piece won't be hung with the burgandy or the caramel colored piece, I'm making a slate grey piece to hang with the white one. I'm planning to do some stitching, in a different color, along the borders of both pieces, to make them different, to make the edges more obvious, maybe even intrusive/obtrusive.
I have a raging head cold, I just got over one with a double ear infection, and now I have another head cold, not even a day between colds. I'm thinking I need to get the juicer out and juice some garlic! Anyway my command of the english language tonight had all but disappeared. Grunting and groaning seems to be the way to go right now. And my hands feel really weird, sticky like??? I'm not sure what's up with that, except that I may have been running a fever earlier today. I slept until four this afternoon, I never do that.
The tyranny of the urgent beckons.
The white piece won't be hung with the burgandy or the caramel colored piece, I'm making a slate grey piece to hang with the white one. I'm planning to do some stitching, in a different color, along the borders of both pieces, to make them different, to make the edges more obvious, maybe even intrusive/obtrusive.
I have a raging head cold, I just got over one with a double ear infection, and now I have another head cold, not even a day between colds. I'm thinking I need to get the juicer out and juice some garlic! Anyway my command of the english language tonight had all but disappeared. Grunting and groaning seems to be the way to go right now. And my hands feel really weird, sticky like??? I'm not sure what's up with that, except that I may have been running a fever earlier today. I slept until four this afternoon, I never do that.
The three panels I've done so far.
White piece for Blood River Canyon Series, again it needs a finished edge. I have on more piece I'm working on tonight it's a dark grey color.
Finishing Edges
I'm at a loss as to how to finish the edges on these pieces, any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I hate doing bindings so we will just rule that one out from the get go! On two of the pieces the top fabric is larger than the back so I could fold it over the edge and hem onto the backing. The burgandy one is flush with the edges. I don't know that a zigzag edge is right for these pieces or not.
Blood River Canyon
Well all I have left to do is sew some sort of finish onto the edges, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do at the moment as my Janome 6500 is in bad repair. I'm not sure how I did it but I seem to have bent the shank on my machine, not good not good at all especially since I have about 5 more quilts begging to come out. I hope I can get my machine in tomorrow, but that means a trip to Des Moines, and that they ahve a machine I can borrow in the meantime, I can't be without a machine. I have a 5124 but it's not up to what I'm doing right now. This was why I bought the 6500 in the first place, not to mention that it's light years faster than the 5124.
Blood River Canyon Both pieces are silk dupoini that has been dyed with natural dyes. The silk crepe de chine in the center has been dye painted with natural dyes. The reddish area is dyed flax. The backing fabric is cotton that has been dyed with indigo, as it was too cold to go out and buy some black Kona cotton today, an the quilt batting is Hobbs Wool batting. The Hobbs Wool batting I carry on my webstore, see link in the sidebar to the right.
Everything was machine stitched, well that is until I broke my machine.
Blood River Canyon Both pieces are silk dupoini that has been dyed with natural dyes. The silk crepe de chine in the center has been dye painted with natural dyes. The reddish area is dyed flax. The backing fabric is cotton that has been dyed with indigo, as it was too cold to go out and buy some black Kona cotton today, an the quilt batting is Hobbs Wool batting. The Hobbs Wool batting I carry on my webstore, see link in the sidebar to the right.
Everything was machine stitched, well that is until I broke my machine.
Blood River Canyon 1 & 2. Almost finished, they need some sort of finishing on the edges. Both pieces seperately are approximately 17.25" w x 21.5" l
Blood River Canyon 2