Author Archive | Ellen Lindner

“Floral Improv” with the Arizona Quilters Guild

Floral Improv is such a fun class. The students learn a lot AND accomplish a lot in a relaxed atmosphere. The gals in Arizona had just such an experience, and made some fantastic quilts!

(I only got photos of a few.) Victoria’s dark background really created a lot of contrast and drama!

Cindy reversed the values on her poppies to great effect. Her quilt is so happy!

Audrey made good progress and was able to add black stitching to her poppies. Can you see (just barely) how it adds a lot of definition?

Kathy used an unusual combination of colors that made her quilt very lively. (There’s that poppy stitching again.) See the floating circles? They’ll become flowers once Kathy stitches on delicate stems for them.

During class Lynda completely finished stitching her quilt and even FRAMED it!!! She was so pleased.

Oh, I can see this gal’s face, but I can’t recall her name. (Please tell me if it’s you.) This piece is very successful thanks to the high contrast, black stitching on the poppies, and ORIGINAL leaves. I love the shape she came up with.

Finally, Vicki’s smile echoed the joy that everyone felt with their fun quilts. Isn’t hers great?

I sure had fun with this group and I think the feeling was mutual. Maybe your guild would live to give Floral Improv a try, as well.

Ellen Lindner

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Over Painting Dyed Fabrics

The thing about using fabric dyes is that they’re translucent. They give beautiful results, but it’s impossible to add light colors at the end. For that paint is needed. So, I decided to use some  fabric paint and see if I could improve a couple of dyed fabrics.

This was my starting point:

Dyeing: How 'Bout Some Orange? Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I decided to paint on blue and blue-green ovals.

Over painting dyed fabric. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Over painting dyed fabric. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I think it helped. This will be a very usable fabric.

Next, this red/pink fabric.

Learning about Dyeing - Still. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I thought it needed some white, so I held my breath and stamped some on. It was a little heavier than I would have liked, but I still thought it was viable.

Over painting dyed fabric. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

The finished fabric:

Over painting dyed fabric. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Yes! I like it a lot and I can’t wait to use it!

Each of these are 45″ long on the longest side.

Ellen Lindner
P.S. I use translucent ProFab fabric paint . (This paint is more translucent than opaque paint, but more opaque than dyes.)

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If You Never Fail You’re Not Experimenting Enough

I’m not sure where I heard that quote, but I agree with it. And, I’ve been doing plenty of experimenting lately. Yes, you guessed it: I created a big failure rough draft.

I’ve been doing quite a few abstract quilts in a style I call “Slice and Dice.” As the name implies, I slice into fabrics and rearrange them back together in different – and hopefully more interesting – arrangements.

Like this:
A Little Bit Tart, an art quilt by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com

A Little Bit Tart

And this:

On the Road to Home, an art quilt by Ellen Lindner. Adventurequilter.com

On the Road to Home

The fabrics I’ve used have been hand dyed, which definitely add to the design of these busy quilts. So, when friends suggested that I teach the technique I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it because of the unique nature of my fabric selections.

Still, I decided to give it a shot. I bought an ombre fabric with several colors in it and fabrics in all the colors. This was my starting point.

Can commercial fabrics be used for a "Slice and Dice" quilt? Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I cut each fabric in predetermined sizes and joined them in pairs. I took meticulous notes so I’d be able to teach exactly what to do.

Can commercial fabrics be used for a "Slice and Dice" quilt? Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Each pair was then altered, either by adding a skinny pieced line, or by cutting and rearranging the pieces.

Can commercial fabrics be used for a "Slice and Dice" quilt? Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Can commercial fabrics be used for a "Slice and Dice" quilt? Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I did that OVER and OVER. And OVER and OVER. After a while I realized that no student would want to spend this long altering the blocks. I didn’t enjoy it either. So much for teaching it.

But, I thought I could at least make it into a good sample in case I figured out the teaching angle down the road. I worked and worked, but the white fabric and the dark colors just stood out too much. I sliced into them repeatedly, trying to whittle them down to what I considered the correct proportion. But, eventually, I had such an abundance of bulky seam allowances that the whole thing was barely sewable.

I decided to cut my losses.

Can commercial fabrics be used for a "Slice and Dice" quilt? Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

This is where I ended up. It was taking a lot of time and it wasn’t getting better. I just stopped.

Do I have angst or regret about tackling this project? No, just the opposite, actually. I had a question and I needed to work it through to find the answer. Now I know the answer. Plus, I recognize the time I spent problem solving and trying new things will make me more creative in the future. I didn’t waste my time and I didn’t waste my fabric. The fabric served a useful purpose, even though it wasn’t the one I imagined.

I feel strongly about the importance of experimentation, which is why I call myself the Adventure Quilter.

Have you “failed” at anything lately? (Actually, I don’t call them failures. They’re “rough drafts,” or “experiments.”) Any recent rough drafts?

Ellen Lindner
P.S. Click the title of this blog to see it without the rest of the blog posts. This will reveal several links  below which will take you to several other posts showing high levels of experimentation on my part. Beware: rabbit holes ahead!

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More Apples in Michigan

Here are a few more apples from the Double Reverse Applique class I recently taught for a guild in Oakland county, MI.

Gail’s machine died mid-class. How frustrating! As you can see she got all the way to the very last piece, (the blue background for the bottom.)

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Gail was excited about the technique, however, and had all her pear fabrics ready to go for after her machine gets repaired.

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Penny, Nancy, and Molly worked in the same location, with the same fabrics. I know they had fun and now they have really great matching apples!

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blogStudent results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

This is a fun and fast class. Let me know if your guild might like to join in the fun.

Ellen Lindner

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Double Reverse Applique: Pears

In a recent Double Reverse Applique class, the students finished their apples in about four hours and had plenty of time to start on their pears. Aren’t they looking great?

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Mary S.

I love seeing the different colorways. Each on is unique.

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Mary A.

 

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Julie

 

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Cathy

 

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Betty

These ladies really stayed on task quite well, and it shows in their productivity. It’s very exhilarating to be in the class!

You can learn this technique on your own by purchasing the eBook, or the online class.

Ellen Lindner

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Double Reverse Applique: Apples

These ladies, in Oakland county, Michigan, did a great job in a recent “Double Reverse Applique” class. Check out their awesome apples.

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Cathy 

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Mary S

As you can see, most students made red apples, which was consistent with the class sample. Very striking, right?

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Mary A.

 

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Julie

 

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Henya chose lively patterned fabrics

 

Student results from Ellen Lindner's Double Reverse Applique class. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Betty

Can you believe that most of these gals finished their apples in just four hours? Then, it was on to pears. Look for those in the next post.

Would your group enjoy this class?  Or, you can easily learn it on your own by downloading the eBook, or enrolling in the online class.

Ellen Lindner

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Teaching LIVE in Avon Park, FL: Part Two

These ladies got a lot done in our 3-hour “Love It and Leaf It” Class!

Carol chose a lovely medium-scale printed fabric for the background. It was the first time I’d had a student make such a choice, but it worked beautifully. (Can you tell she’s happy with it?)

Love It and Leaf It in Avon Park, FL. Developed and taught by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Janet chose mostly solid fabrics, which worked well. As long as there’s contrast with the vein fabric any leaf fabrics work.

Love It and Leaf It in Avon Park, FL. Developed and taught by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Don’t you love Jackie’s pink leaf against her dark blue background?

Love It and Leaf It in Avon Park, FL. Developed and taught by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

It sure was fun to be interacting with my students in-person again!

Gee, I hope some of these ladies will send me photos of their finished and framed pieces!

Ellen Lindner
P.S. This class is a really good choice for a Zoom class, since you don’t have to spend a lot of time in front of your computer.

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Teaching LIVE in Avon Park, FL: Part One

Well, after two years, I finally got to teach an in-person class recently. I taught the class “Love It and Leaf It” to a welcoming group in Avon Park, FL. Of course, we had fun!

Rose did a great job on her quilt. Don’t the veins make it pop?

Love It and Leaf It in Avon Park, FL. Developed and taught by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Lorri had a beautiful piece of hand-dyed (looking) fabric which she was able to use for all the different colors. Very creative and effective.

Love It and Leaf It in Avon Park, FL. Developed and taught by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Kay chose a dark blue for her background, which was equally effective.

Love It and Leaf It in Avon Park, FL. Developed and taught by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

And Janice chose green. Don’t all these varieties look awesome?

Love It and Leaf It in Avon Park, FL. Developed and taught by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

This was only a three hour class so, you can see they got A LOT done. Most of them had their pieces quilted. All that was left to do was to face them and pop them in a frame.

I’ll show you the remaining photos in the next post.

Ellen Lindner

 

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Dyeing with a Buddy

When you combine one of your favorite activities (dyeing fabric) with one of your favorite people you KNOW you’re going to have a good day! Such was the case when my friend, Perlie, came for a dye play day. She’s an experienced dyer, but we have very different ways of working, so it was interesting to “cross pollinate.”

She loves to work with masks, because they don’t leave a hard straight edge, the way a stencil does.

Dyeing with a Buddy. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

She used complementary colors and just look. I love it!

Dyeing with a Buddy. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Perlie introduced me to a new tool: a squirt bottle with a comb-like attachment. It’s used for adding dye to your hair and works beautifully for creating a series of parallel lines. Like this (shown wet.)

Dyeing with a Buddy. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

And here it is dry. Even the blobs are interesting.

Dyeing with a Buddy. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I love those criss-crossed lines!

Now it’s all cleaned up and waiting for my next dye session.

Dyeing with a Buddy. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Want to see my dyeing set up? Check it out on my video page.

Now to USE my new fabrics! Can’t wait!

Ellen Lindner

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More Dyeing Results

When dyeing fabric, it’s not at all unusual for me to wash out a fabric, decide it needs more, treat it (again) with soda ash, and continue on. Such was the case with this one. The eyeballs/ovals on this piece were originally pale yellow. Well, that was just creepy! It looked like a lot of animals watching you from the dark. I added a pale blue throughout, which gave me pale green and blue “eyeballs.” Much better!

More Dyeing Results. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Earlier, I used the dirty stencil with clear paste to get this. I think it will be very useful as a “white.”

More Dyeing Results. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

This one is a deconstructed screen print. At the end of my previous dye session, I had drawn some orange lines onto a stencil and let them dry. Then, during my recent dye session, I used that screen with a sort of berry color. Initially, the dry lines acted as a resist and I got white stripes. But then, they began to dissolve (deconstruct) and I got orange stripes. Pretty cool, I think.

More Dyeing Results. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

There are so many options when dyeing fabric!

Ellen Lindner

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