Blog – Page 27 of 63 – Adventure Quilter

First Croton Leaf Complete

By Ellen Lindner on April 3, 2020 in Uncategorized

Here it is, A Croton Story, Chapter One.

As you can see, the 3D aspect of it really adds a lot. Here’s a detail shot.

Final dimensions 24h x 11w x 1d.
Here are some studio shots.

The stem was stiffened with thick interfacing and heavy stitching. Then, I wet fabric strips with gel medium (collage glue) and wrapped them around it. The result was nice and stiff, just like a stem should be.

I’m super happy with this piece! It required A LOT of experimenting and inventiveness.

Now, I’ve got the techniques down and I’m making a series of these in brighter colors. The fabrics are dyed and I’m making progress. I can’t wait to see them all together.

Ellen Lindner
P.S. These pieces will be available for purchase, at $175 each.

Technical Challenge: a 3D Quilted Leaf

By Ellen Lindner on March 30, 2020 in Uncategorized

After admiring the arch and curl of a Croton leaf, I decided I wanted to make a quilt with those same lines. And because I thought it should roll up for shipping (or lay flat) but still be malleable for display, I knew I’d want to put wire into it. Which is what plunged me into a time of great experimentation and learning.

First, I studied and photographed Croton leaves from my back porch plant. (I picked the past-their-prime leaves.)

Click any image for a larger view

See what pretty shapes they have? This is what I wanted to emulate.

Next, I scanned them an turned them into black and white sketches. I traced the outline of the first one I wanted to use.

Then, I created the top composition with two hand dyed fabrics. Next came quilting, but without a backing just yet.

Since I wanted the leaf to arch from stem to tip, I wanted to add a fairly heavy, but still pliable, wire down the center. I was worried about the end of that wire puncturing the fabric, so I knew I’d need to soften or shape it somehow. The solution came in the form of an accidental Christmas present. I had asked for glue sticks, like Elmer’s makes. But, my husband misunderstood and bought me glue sticks for a hot glue gun. (He gets points for even knowing that a hot glue gun exists. Even though mine no longer works.) The glue sticks turned out to be exactly what I needed, though. I melted down several in a little handmade aluminum foil “pot.” I dipped the ends of the wire into it and it created a nice round blob on each end. Voila!

I hand stitched the wire along the center vein line. To keep the wire from shifting from stem to tip, I created little fabric stops on each end. I glued and folded fabric over the end and then stitched it to the quilting. (BTW, I’m making this sound so straight forward. But, EVERY one of these techniques was tested and modified in a sample before using it on this larger leaf.)

In the photo above, you can see some of the tools I used, including leather gloves and wire cutters. Next, I would cut the wire mesh and hand stitch it on.

And it all worked! Here you can see that I could bend the leaf along the center vein, or curl the sides like book pages. I was getting excited!

Not shown, I used a different weight of wire and satin stitched it around the perimeter of the leaf. That was rather tricky since the leaf was now stiff. But, I was getting close!

Stay tuned to see how this turned out. Hint: I’m delighted with it!

What experiments have you tried during this time of isolation?

Ellen Lindner

Transparency is the Thing

By Ellen Lindner on March 29, 2020 in Uncategorized

My primary objective during a recent dying session was to improve many ugly or high contrast fabrics. This photo shows about half of the fabrics I intended to improve.

Some of them look fine, but have a lot of contrast in them. Now that I’ve been working with these hand dyed fabrics for a while, I’m finding that working with these can be challenging. Others are nearly solid and need to have some pattern added. Finally, some are hideous and merely need to be mostly obscured.

Because dyes are transparent, you always have to consider how colors will combine when one is applied over another. I gave this a lot of thought. The fabric below was pale blue and white. Pretty, but not something I thought I’d use. So, I over dyed it with a dull yellow. As you can see, that turned the blue to green, just as I expected.

And here’s the whole collection, after a week’s worth of effort. I think I did about 40 pieces.

Actually, there are another 6 or so that turned out really ugly. (Chartreuse, when I was aiming for a simple yellow-green.) They’ll be in the “needs improvement” category for my next dye session.

Now, I’m on to using these fabrics and it sure is fun!

Ellen Lindner

Dirty Prints

By Ellen Lindner on March 28, 2020 in Uncategorized

My recent dye session was devoted almost exclusively to improving ugly prints. That generally meant over dying with a solid color, or stenciling on a new one.

Take this little piece, for instance. It was originally an ugly yellow-green that I didn’t think I’d use. But, I knew that if I mostly obscured that color, leaving only tiny bits of it showing, it would add a nice sparkle to the resulting print.

Since dyes are transparent, I gave a lot of thought to how the underlying color would work with the new one. I thought a dull red (the complement of green) would give a dark, neutral result. And, as you can see, that’s exactly what I got.

My stencil was larger than the little piece I was printing, so some of the design got printed onto the plastic. No worries. I just laid some white fabric down onto it, and lifted a print. And then I added a couple more.

Next, I used that dirty stencil for what I call “dirty printing.” All you do is pull clear paste through the used stencil. It picks up the dye that was in the nooks and crannies, creating a more delicate version of the same lines. I layered them on top of each other, in various orientations. I love the look!

This is just one of the many techniques I learned in a five day class with Pat Pauly. She’s a wealth of knowledge!

Ellen Lindner
P.S. A broader term for this sort of treatment is “ghost print.” A ghost print is when you take a second print without adding any additional dye/paint/ink.

Wildlife Down Under

By Ellen Lindner on March 10, 2020 in Uncategorized

I’ve always wanted to see a koala and I got several chances to do so in Australia.

They are so adorable! They sleep about 20 hours each day, so of course, all the ones we saw were doing just that. However, we got to get super close to them at the Sydney Zoo. We weren’t allowed to touch them, but we could observe them up close. Doesn’t this guy above look super relaxed?

His buddy was snuggled in a couple of branches below. This was a good chance to study their feet, which are different front and back. The front ones have two opposable thumbs! (His back feet are showing in this photo.)

In Tasmania we saw a wombat, which is similar to the koala species. Also very cuddly looking. And awake!

And then we spent some time with about 140 kangaroos. They live at a wildlife sanctuary where they are taken care of. As a result they are VERY tame, so we could walk among them, feed them, and scratch them. They were so spoiled as to be rather disinterested in us – and our food.

Many of the kangaroos had adolescent joeys (babies) that were hanging out in mom’s pouch. Only the joey’s back legs and tail were showing. VERY weird looking!

And then, we got to see a Tasmanian Devil in action. They’re very interesting looking little characters: about the size of a raccoon, with red ears!

I was shocked when one of the workers asked “Do you want to see him attack?” Well, of course we did. So, the worker gathered a small crowd. Then, he walked over to where the devil was sleeping in a log and poked him with a literal 10 foot pole. That little guy came tearing out of there, with teeth barred! The worker backed up in a big hurry and the devil got tired of the chase after 15 feet or so. Yes, it got our attention! (Reminded me of a very aggressive black dog we had one time. She sorta led with her teeth.)

It was great to see this unusual – to us – wildlife!

Ellen Lindner

What a Trip!

By Ellen Lindner on March 5, 2020 in Uncategorized

I recently went on the vacation of a lifetime, to Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand! My favorite thing was the scenery in Hawaii and New Zealand. Here’s just a sample.

The beach in Kona, Hawaii (on the big island.)

The turquoise water, white waves, and black lava rocks created a wonderful contrast!

Much of New Zealand had steep hills and mountains caused by earthquakes. It was very dramatic.

The tan hills reflect the dry conditions, although irrigation keeps the agricultural industry vibrant. As a matter of fact, New Zealand is so conducive to growing things that the same trees that are grown for lumber in California reach maturity in half the time in NZ.

The photo above was taken on a working sheep station (ranch.) Which shows you just how abundant such stunning views are. Gorgeous!

There was inspiration everywhere!

Ellen Lindner

Thinking About a New Class

By Ellen Lindner on February 26, 2020 in Uncategorized

I’m thinking about turning my “Notes for a Friend” concept into a class. To try out the idea I did an informal class with two friends and it was a huge success!

Cindy had never worked abstractly before, but she jumped in and finished her note in no time flat. Didn’t she do a great job?

Although she planned on adding hand embroidery later, she decided to skip that so she could work on a second one. She got all the way through completing the composition during our time together. She left plenty of calm areas which will look great when she adds some hand stitching.

Notice that Cindy has a cardboard frame around her piece, above. This helps her visualize the final project without seams allowances, etc. Very helpful.

Jo-Ann was enamored with many hand-dyed scraps and their busy patterns. Using so many patterns can be quite challenging, so she took she took her time and came up with a great composition. She faced it once she got home and doesn’t it look wonderful?

She decided that it didn’t need any hand stitching due to the busy patterns already in the piece and I agreed.

It was great fun for me to work with these two and I’m excited about the idea of developing this into a class. Of course, I know it will be quite different working with 15-20 people. I’ll have to think about some streamlining techniques.

What do you think? Would you like a class making one of these tiny quilts (5 x 7?) I anticipate that most students will completely finish theirs, including facing, in class. I’d greatly appreciate your thoughts on such a class, positive or negative.

Ellen Lindner

Notes for a Friend, #27-29

By Ellen Lindner on February 18, 2020 in Uncategorized

Since I had collected quite a stash of hand-dyed scraps, I decided to use them in a new series of “Notes for a Friend.” These super small pieces are only 7 x 5 each, but I think they pack a lot of punch.

When making them it’s easy to be distracted by the excess fabric hanging off the edges. Therefore, I will frequently use a paper frame to help me visualize the final product. Here’s #27 with the frame in place.

And here it is, completed. (And with a new orientation.)

I just love these little pieces! Especially when I make them in vibrant colors.

I generally make them in sets of 3. Here’s #28.

And #29.
As you can see, I add hand stitching that plays up the fabrics. Very fun!

"Notes for a Friend," tiny, vibrant quilts. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Page Coming Soon

They look great as a group, or individually. And, for added presentation “oomph” they can be framed using my favorite method.

Here’s an example (with a different little “Note,” and a floating frame.)

I’ll have them on my website for sale, soon. At only $59 they go quickly. Email me now if you just have to have one. (Link at the bottom of the page.) Or check out the Notes for a Friend Gallery to see what else is available.

Which one is your favorite? I can’t decide.

Ellen Lindner

Use a Slat to Hang Your Quilt

By Ellen Lindner on February 14, 2020 in Uncategorized

After making a hanging sleeve for your quilt it’s time to make the slat that will go in it.

The slat should be made from lightweight but sturdy wood. My husband cuts strips of luan door skin for me. I can then cut them to length with a utility knife. You can also look for wood trim and have the hardware store cut it to length of you.

What length, you ask? It should match the length of the sleeve. (In the following photos, the striped fabric is the hanging sleeve and the black and white fabric is the faced backing.)

Use a slat to hang your quilt. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

This slat is much heftier than I usually use – just because it’s what I had on hand.

Drill hanging holes, about 1/4″ wide about 2″ from each end. The holes should be in the top half of the slat. In the photo below, the slat has been pulled out temporarily to show the holes.

This slat is much heftier than I usually use – just because it’s what I had on hand.

Insert the slat into the sleeve and center it, left to right. Then, scoot it up as high as it can go toward the top of the sleeve. (Gravity will cause this shift when hanging.) Feel around, through the sleeve, to find the drilled holes. Using sharp embroidery scissors, cut a small X in each location. These allow the hanging nails to reach from the front of the slat, through the sleeve, to the wall. Use nails with a head to them, to allow them to catch the slat more easily.

This photo shows how it will all work. The head of the protruding nail is inside the sleeve, reaching through the slat hole, and the sleeve hole.

Now you’re ready to hammer two nails into the wall to support the quilt and the slat.
– Insert the slat in the sleeve. Determine the desired location and mark this on the wall.
– Remove the quilt and work with just the slat. Position it in the desired location, check that it’s level, and mark the nail holes on the wall.
– Hammer nails into these two positions, leaving the nails protruding about ¼”.
– Reinsert the slat into the sleeve.
– You’ll probably need a helper for the actual hanging part. The idea is to lift the quilt onto the two nails, but you won’t be able to see them as you’re doing it. I find the hole and put my thumb over it in the front, while I hold the slat and quilt aligned with my other fingers on the back. IF the nails stay in place, you can just lift and set the slat/quilt combo on to the nails.
– However, the nails frequently slide into the wall. In that case, pull them out of the wall and put them into the slat in the correct orientation, now holding quilt, slat, and nail as you hunt for the hole in the wall. It’s generally not difficult but slightly awkward and definitely a 2 person job. Voila!

These quilts were hung using slats like those described.

Using a Hanging Slat. Ellen Linder, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

“Crotons,” displayed in my home

“Maybe a Maple,” displayed in my home

See how flat they are? Just like hanging a stiff piece of art.

And, if you do use a dowel, the excess sleeve fullness still allows it to hang pretty flat, like the one below.

I’d love to see installation photos after you get your quilt up!

Ellen Lindner
P.S. There’s a much easier version which works well for small quilts.
– Make the sleeve a couple of inches shorter, so the slat will protrude out both ends. This allows you to fold the quilt back and SEE the slat holes when hanging.
– The only down side is that the far left and right edges of the quilt are not supported by a slat. For heavier/larger quilts some sagging may be visible, especially over time.