Well, I think maybe I’ve finished making croton leaves for a while. This is where it stands now. Numbers 2-8: I really like the way they look together, don’t you? I think I’ll submit them as a collection to some exhibits. All the fabrics are my own hand dyes, except for one. I have one…
I’ve you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I’m not shy about cutting up a quilt. Sometimes I rearrange the pieces and create a new, more exciting composition. Other times, I use the new smaller pieces as the start of new little works of art. Such was the case with this COMPLETELY…
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…
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…
My friend, Marilyn, taught our fiber art group how to make fabric books. Hers were lovely, with pale pages, lots of embellishments, and amazing contents. I had just whacked off a good bit of an already quilted quilt and thought that piece would make a good start for the cover. This is what it looked…
“Deconstructed Screen Printing.” That’s a mouth full isn’t it? Perhaps the alternate term is a little more self-explanatory: “Breakdown Printing.” This technique uses thickened dyes applied with screen printing and it often yields extraordinary results. Like this (detail shot.) Don’t you love the squiggly irregular shapes and “halos?” You probably know about screen printing…
While dying fabric I’m learning a lot! Some of it comes from books and some of it I stumble upon. Case in point, trying to mix thickened dye colors directly on the fabric. I had heard that they wouldn’t really mix in this way, but I was feeling lazy and had to give it a…
Have you done any abstract work? I have and I often find it difficult to come up with the original design. One exercise that’s been floating around via Pat Pauly and others it to randomly cover an index card with fabric scraps and let that become your design. So I tried a few. Some of…
At any good quilt show you’ll find amazing workmanship and creativity. The Daytona Beach show was no exception. This amazing trapunto quilt was made by Jan Hutchison. Click any image for a larger view (It looks slightly green under the lights, but was really a taupe color.) Check out these fabulous details! Isn’t it amazing?…
Ellen Anne Eddy says, “If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” In other words, don’t expect yourself to master something right away. If it’s worth doing it’s worth your practice time and whatever mediocre results you get along the way. Well, I think maybe I was the poster child for this philosophy in my…