Tag Archives | Raw Edge Collage

“When Fuchsia Came to Play” Complete

Well, after LOTS of trial and error, trouble shooting, and rearranging, I finally finished my latest abstract piece, When Fuchsia Came to Play.

When Fuchsia Came to Play, an art quilt by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com

When Fuchsia Came to Play

A detail shot of the fabrics – most of them dyed by me.

When Fuchsia Came to Play - detail, an art quilt by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com

I showed you my plans for rearranging in an earlier post. As part of that, I whacked 7+” off the bottom! It’s okay. It needed it, and I’ve already found another use for that extra part.

When Fuchsia Came to Play  is available for purchase.

My friends joke that I’m the queen of cropping, and it’s pretty true. Need me to bring my rotary cutter over?

Ellen Lindner

2

Crazy Rapid Portraits

The retreat I attended recently had a very interesting and fun ice breaker activity.  Karol Kusmaul led us on a HIGH SPEED collaborative portrait making exercise.

Since she works exclusively with recycled clothing that’s what she provided for us.  Each table of about 8 people had a bag on monochromatic selections, with buttons, cuffs, etc. still attached.

Karol provided each person with a piece of batting, about 12 x 12.  We were told to create a background with  light, medium, and dark areas.  “Quick!  Then pass it to your left!” Next came shoulders and a neck, followed by a FAST pass.  Then a face.  (Maybe we got a full minutes on that one!) This breakneck pace continued as we added eyes, a nose, a mouth and so on.  At each stage, Karol gave us good direction on human proportions.  And then we passed it again!

Crazy Rapid Portraits. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

No ironing!  Buttons and snaps still included, and just a few pins holding things together.

Finally, a “completed” portrait landed in front of each person.  (Not necessarily one she had even worked on.)

Crazy Rapid Portraits. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

This was a great opening exercise.  We weren’t trying to make great art.  In fact, almost the opposite.  Karol had us working quickly so we couldn’t over think our decisions.  This forced us to be creative and was a great way to jump start the weekend’s activities.

What did we do with the portraits, you ask?  Some people worked on theirs throughout the weekend or took them home to finish later.  Others gifted Karol with the resulting portraits.  Knowing her, I’ll bet she tweaks and completes each one.

This activity gives you an idea of the free-spirited and light-hearted weekend that lay ahead.

Ellen Lindner

6

“Shootin’ the Breeze” Finished!

Whoo-boy, the quilt of my brothers ended up taking quite a bit longer than I anticipated, but I’m very happy with the finished result.

Shootin' the Breeze, an art quilt by Ellen Lindner. AdventureQuilter.com
I got to show it to my family in the almost-complete stage, and they LOVED it.  That was very gratifying.

Shootin' the Breeze art quilt in-progress. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Here are few detail shots.

My brother Ricky.

Shootin' the Breeze - detail, an art quilt by Ellen Lindner. AdventureQuilter.com

My brother Todd.

Shootin' the Breeze - detail, an art quilt by Ellen Lindner. AdventureQuilter.com

Quilting faces was new to me, and rather intimidating.  I studied the work of Hollis Chatelain and am very happy with the end result.  (However, if I ever do faces again, I’ll use clear thread, rather than changing the thread colors throughout.)

As you can see, the quilting added a lot to the 3D aspects of the clothing, too.

Shootin' the Breeze - detail, an art quilt by Ellen Lindner. AdventureQuilter.com

I feel like I haven’t had much to show on my blog for a while, except for this quilt.  So, to all my faithful readers, thanks for your patience!  Now, I can have fun with other things (like mobiles) and share new adventures with you.

Ellen Lindner
P.S. I’ve entered this piece in an exhibit called “Guns: Loaded Conversations.”  If accepted, it will tour for three years.

 

 

12

Getting Close

I’m FINALLY winding down on the quilt featuring my brothers.  It’s not ready for a full photograph yet, but here are the two faces.  I spent  A LOT of time on these and I’m happy with them.

Close detail of facial features. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

My brother Todd

 

Close detail of facial features. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

My brother Ricky

I plan to show the quilt to some of my family members this week.  I know they’ll love it.

Ellen Lindner

0

Making Gun Barrels

Woohoo, the background of my current quilt is finally complete!  Composed and glued and ready for stitching, (but without the green hexie in the center of the photo.)

Making Gun Barrels. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

In the photo above, I was considering adding some hexies to the background.  Just because I’ve been making a lot of them and to give a nod to traditional quilts.  Here’s a better look at them in the sky.

Making Gun Barrels. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

They were kinda interesting, but I eventually decided that they drew attention to the background, making it look overly chunky.  I didn’t think either aspect would help the quilt, so I left them out.

On to making guns. Here’s Ricky’s finished.

Making Gun Barrels. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Actually, I had to tweak it a little.  The grey on the barrel was too high contrast, so I went over it with a little light grey pastel.  Also, I decided that the barrel was not properly aligned with the stock, so I straightened that out. (See the improvements below.)

On to Todd’s gun.  Due to the angle at which they’re holding their guns, the barrel of his appears longer than Ricky’s.

Making Gun Barrels. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I composed the guns onto muslin, with glue.  I think I should have fused them, since some of the pieces are pretty small and could ravel.  Next time.

Don’t they look handsome?  Just like themselves, I think: relaxed and at ease.  Next, I’ll get to place them on the background.  I think their orientation is about right above, but I know I’ll need to do some tweaking.

I’m getting excited with these results!

Ellen Lindner

13

750 Pins Later

I own 750 pins: 3 boxes of 250 each.  But, that wasn’t enough to compose my current quilt!

I use A LOT of smallish pieces of fabrics, so that’s why I use so many pins.

750 Pins Later. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

See what I mean?

Still, I’m very happy with the barns and trees I recently created.

750 Pins Later. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I’m especially pleased with the two trees on the left.  A clean up cloth provided lots of little smudged lines that I was able to manipulate.  I think it works.

750 Pins Later. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

How will I complete my composition without more pins?  Well, I’ll eventually buy more.  But in the meantime, I started gluing things in place in order to free up pins.  I still need to create the grass that’s needed in the foreground.

It seems like this quilt is taking longer than usual, but I should be stitching on it soon.

Ellen Lindner
P.S. This page lists some of my favorite products, including my favorite pins.

6

Corn Fields and Such

After separately creating the two men for my “brothers quilt,” it was time to work on the background.

I finished up the rough draft of the sky and added the far tree line, (with a piece of blue fabric marking a future silo.).

Corn Fields and Such. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Next it was on to the corn field in the foreground. Since the reference photo was taken in November, the corn had already been harvested and the short golden stalks were all that was left.

My Brothers - making faces. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I wanted to create the texture of the messy corn stalks, but not too exactly.  So, I used lots of print fabrics to convey the vegetation.  My plan was to use large scale prints in the foreground, like those shown below, and smaller scaled ones in the background.  I hoped this would add a sense of depth.

Corn Fields and Such. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

It worked, but required a good bit of tweaking. (And a lot of pins!) Here is what I think will be the final corn field, below.

Corn Fields and Such. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Distant fields had much more subtle texture, so I auditioned near-solid fabrics for them.

Corn Fields and Such. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Here they are, complete.  I’m happy with the sense of depth.  That will be enhanced when I add the small buildings in the distance.

Corn Fields and Such. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Next it was time to start adding the green fields and grasses. Here it is, in-progress.

Corn Fields and Such. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I’m getting close to completing the design of this background.  I still need to add the foreground grass and the buildings.  Then, I’ll have to glue it all in place.

FYI, here’s another quilt where I used the scale of fabrics to add to the sense of depth.

Ellen Lindner

6

My Brothers

I’ve been thinking about making a quilt inspired by this photo (composite) of my two brothers.My Brothers - making faces. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I took quite a few photos that day and loosely merged 3 to get this composite.  In the quilt I’ll leave out the extra arm and the clay pigeon thrower.

This will be a special quilt for several reasons.
– My brother Ricky, on the left, is no longer alive.
– It depicts a family tradition: target shooting on the farm after Thanksgiving dinner.
– In shows both brothers relaxed, and in their element.  They are/were both excellent marksmen.
– It will complement an earlier family quilt I made.  I’ve sized it accordingly.
– It relates well to a current call for art titled “Guns:  Loaded Conversations.”

For this project I knew I’d need something I seldom use: a pattern.  At least for the two men. I created it with a combination of computer editing and good old tracing.

My Brothers - making faces. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Next came fabric selection for the faces.  Maybe something like this.  (Or do I need a darker one?)

My Brothers - making faces. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I used the “cutout” filter in Photoshop Elements to help me finalize the pattern for Ricky’s face.

My Brothers - making faces. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

My process was to fuse fabrics for the features, cut out pattern shapes, and fuse/assemble them on parchment paper.  That latter part was new for me and more than once I fused fabric to my pattern instead!

Here’s his finished face and I’m extremely happy with it.

My Brothers - making faces. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

This looks just like him.  So much so that both my sister and mother were startled when they stumbled upon it on Facebook.  Yay!  I think I’m on track.  What do you think?

Ellen Lindner

 

17

“Spring Forth” Complete

After many distractions, I finally got back to working on my Red Bud quilt.  I decided to name it “Spring Forth,” because I was captivated by the way the Red Bud blossoms pop right up out of the trunks.

Spring Forth, an art quilt by Ellen Lindner. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Spring Forth

 

I got lucky with the background fabrics.  Many of them had colorful dots which worked well for implying more blossoms.  I love it when the fabric does the work!

Spring Forth - detail, an art quilt by Ellen Lindner. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

As you can see, I abstracted the flowers quite a bit.  That was fun!

Spring Forth - detail, an art quilt by Ellen Lindner. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Find more details, dimensions, and purchase information on the Spring Forth web page.

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  I’m the queen of cropping.  It VERY frequently improves the composition.  Which I sorta noticed in the second image.  I really like that composition, too.

19

“Back Yard Beauty” Complete

My flame vine quilt is now complete.  I’ve named it Back Yard Beauty.

"Back Yard Beauty" Complete. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I’m quite happy with it.  Here’s a detail shot.

"Back Yard Beauty" Complete. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

You can see more about how I made it in the previous posts.

On to the next quilt, a red bud tree!

Ellen Lindner

0