Showing posts with label Summer Fibrations. Show all posts

Saturday, April 03, 2021

Week 1 of #AtoZchallenge2021Quilt (Art)

The #AtoZchallenge2021Quilt started April 1 and I posted my first three letters on Instagram. If you didn't catch them, here is a recap.

A is for Art appliqué

The piece is A White History of Art and the image that I used to illustrate Art Appliqué is the close-up of the representation of The White Girl by Whistler.

It was created for Art with Fabric Blog Hop, Fall 2018. It is based on a BBC series called History of Art in Three Colours. This piece is an interpretation of the White episode and the picture below portrays The White Girl by Whistler.

Representation of a Symphony in White, No. 1:
The White Girl by Whistler

Here is an image of the entire piece. If you're interested in reading more about it, see Related links below.

A White History of Art

B is for Batik

The piece is called Peek-a-boo Red. It's totally hand-stitched with embroidery and beading. Peeking out from behind the curtain, you can see the batik hexies.

It's one of four mini art quilts that I create for the Summer Fibrations Art Show by the Out of the Box (OOTB) Artists Group which was held at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte Ontario in June - July 2019.

Peek-a-boo Red with Batik Hexies peeking out from the curtain

C is for Couching and Cording

The piece is called BIG Mandala to Help Heal the World. It was created for the Project Quilting Quarantine 2020. I made my own cording and then couched it down between the different parts of the Mandala.

Hand-made cording that is couched down

BIG Mandala to help heal the world - PQQ 2020

What I learned

I am very impressed that I was really organised and ready to post all of these without too much effort.
I don't generally like to post on Instagram because I have to write all of the information, including # tags on my phone. It's a really pain. It's not perfected yet but I wrote all three posts in a Word document and copied the wording for all three in an email. I was then able to go back to the email, copy the text and post it in Instagram.
I'm actually getting better on my phone, switching from one window to the other....that always made me nervous but I'm better at it now.
Posting from Instagram to the #AtoZchallenge2021Quilt linking party with Frédérique at Quilting, Patchwork, Appliqué using my phone was more of a challenge. I don't think that the problem is with InLinkz (who were very helpful) but with Instagram. Even now I'm wouldn't know that it was linked if not for going on the computer to check.
It's definitely a learning process and I expect to be an expert by the end of April 😊
I'm really glad that it's a really long weekend so that I'll have time to prepare for next week, and maybe even more!

Monday, May 20, 2019

Making Gaïa's Garden

After a bit of productive procrastination, I'm back to working on my art quilt.

Gaïa's Garden

It's always a long process, so I thought that I would share some of it with you. Here's a recap (see Related links below).

My model for Gaïa

Choosing a colour palette

My model for Gaïa is this picture of a reproduction statuette of a beautiful Pre-Columbian female figure from Colombia, South America.

I used photo transfer medium to make the fabric image.

Gradients Multi
33366 11D Moda

It took me a long time to start because I was looking for the right fabric, which I found in the Gradients by Moda line.

Fussy cutting and trying out possibilities

Next I went through my stash and fussy cut fabric, including the background. I just placed them on the design board to get the general effect and to ensure that I had enough fabric.

That's where I was in my last post, with lots of work left and many possibilities.

The next part is the one I find most intimidating - taking everything off the design board and creating the background.

I attached the sky (including my hand-dyed yellow and pink cotton), the green background and the river. Then it was time to play with the colours. I took out my box of gauze, tulle, and silk.

It's difficult to see in the photo but the sky and river really shimmer. I separated the river into 3 sections - the reflection of the sky, a more turbulent riven and then a calmer lake.

Knowing what to keep

Creating the background and adding shimmer

From the many versions on my design board, there were a few things that I knew that I would keep.

These were the leaves beside Gaïa and the large plant, flowers and bird in this photo.

It took several tries to get the other side of Gaïa finished. My original thought was to use the light leaves. I also tried out some yellow/orange leaves but they just blended into the reflecting water. Finally I choose the darker blue leaves to create more contrast. Since the image of Gaïa is light, she needs a little help to stand out.

Should I use the light coloured leaves?

What about the yellow/orange leaves?

Finally choosing the darker blue leaves

Below you can see that I added a couple of leaves on top to create a curve.

My next two challenges can be seen in this image. The first one is by the river where I want to create a quiet space with a bit of a swamp or pond. The second one is the lotus flower at the foot of Gaïa. This is where I'm at, although I can still change my mind since the challenging pieces haven't been attached yet.

What it looks like so far

I'm working mostly from my design board which is on my ironing board. When I like something, I just pin them into place and go to the sewing machine next to it. I've been using Superior Threads' Kimono Silk thread to attach all of these pieces. I'm trying not to add too much detail at this point since once everything is attached, I'll be free motion quilting the piece. At that point, I may use heavier thread, depending on the effect that I want.

Working on my design board

Using Kimono Silk thread

What I learned

Deadlines have their usefulness (I guess) but since I got a bit of a reprieve, it's taking that much longer to make. Turns out that the description was due in mid-May but the final product is only due in mid-June. I'm afraid that I'll be using every last minute of that extra time - to make it and to productively procrastinate 😉
There is still a ways to go, although it usually goes a little faster once things fall into place.
As I've been writing this post, I realise that I'll be placing the swamp in the lake part of the piece. It make more sense, although reality is not especially important here!
As for the lotus flower, I think that if I add more fabric around it, I'll get a better sense of how it will look.
My background has a few puckers in it. Since I'm making this up as I go along, I'll probably cut around the river and adjust the fabric.

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Free Motion Mavericks and an art quilt in the making

Welcome to Free Motion Mavericks (week 226).

Since I didn't get a chance to do any free motion quilting (FMQ) in the last couple of days, I'm going to just share my last practice piece from the weekend. You can read about it in my last post (see Related links below)

Practicing my FMQ

Progress on the art quilt

This piece is due in less than a month. It will be part of an Out of the Box Fibre Artists exhibition, Summer Fibrations, at the Mississippi Mills Textile Museum this summer. On the weekend I was auditioning fabrics. The main fabric that I'm using is Gradients by Moda. It's just absolutely beautiful.

On Tuesday I went through my stash to find other fabrics that I will be fussy cutting from. As I was playing with them this morning, I realised that I will have to keep going through my stash for more.

This is just the beginning but I think that the layout will probably stay. I'm sure that the flowers and details will get revised many times.

The start of the piece

Working on my design board from my ironing board

As I mentioned in my last post, I took the week off and will spend most of it working on this baby.

Unfortunately it hasn't been as peaceful as I would have liked. Below is the view from my window, which is why I'm working on the ironing board instead of my desk. I think that the bulldozing is finished so at least the ground should stop shaking!

I've also joined Amy's challenge on Instagram, #onethingwithamy
We set a goal for the week on Monday and report our progress on Friday. This is perfect for the next couple of weeks since I'll actually get things done during the week instead of being in a vegetative state when I get home. 😊

If you want to read more about this project, see the Related links below. That's also where you'll find "What I learned" so far on this project.

Related links

FMQ practice and planning, April 20, 2019
Summer Fibrations at the Mississippi Mills Textile Museum in Almonte, Ontario
Gradients by Moda Fabrics
#onethingwithamy with Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side

Linking parties

I will be linking up this post to many great link-ups. Let's see what's happening! Design Wall Monday, Moving It Forward, What I Made Monday, To-Do Tuesday, Tuesday Colour Linky Party, Midweek Makers, Needle & Thread Thursday, Off the Wall Friday, Finished or Not Friday, Friday Foto Fun, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?,

Free Motion Mavericks

Thank you to everyone who linked up two weeks ago. As always there was some lovely projects linked up. This week's highlight is Gretchen's Wiggly Whimsy Quilt with its 'organic wavy line' quilting. Don't you love her glamour shot? If you didn't see it, check it out.