Saturday, January 26, 2008

WIP and Some Treasures for the Stash

The sketch. The notes in the margin have nothing to do with the project it may become. The colors are just a way of thinking it out, not necessarily a final choice.


Most of the painting finished (done in acryllics). I hope to design the quilt next. You might notice that the sketch and painting are not exactly alike, and the odds are good that by the time it gets to a quilt it will change again. I like to work spontaneously and not reproduce exactly each time. For me, the fun is in the process. So, no copy shop for me.
Next, some of my newly acquired treasures. Gorgeous hand marbled piece, isn't it? I REALLY need to learn how to get results like this for myself.




Some Kaffe Fassett in gorgeous intense blues.


A funky little retro, kind of a mix of things.




I got these lovely treasures at the Road to California quilt show. This year I didn't take time off work, but we had a wonderful day trip. It was a little too crowded, but the show was fantastic. A nice mix of art and traditional, very high quality work all the way around. Great vendors too.

Rian wanted to know about the freezer paper applique method where you remove the freezer paper BEFORE stitching. The projects we did using this technique were nowhere near as complicated as the lovely blocks she made, but you can find a tutorial here. It is the brushed on starch that keeps the turned under edge crisp and allows you to remove the paper first. We also went on to use a water soluble glue baste to assemble the entire block before sewing. You can use a dot or two wherever it is needed and it will last until the piece is washed. It is NOT permanent, so you have to hand or machine sew every edge. Overall quilting (as can be done in a fused or permanently glued piece) isn't enough.


The Kaffe Fassett fabrics shown above are going into a nine patch quilt of cool blues and purples (I think). The lovely marbled orange and yellow is going into a "firebird" art quilt, along with some of that gorgeous golden yellow thread. I could see that one in my head as soon as I picked up the fabric. The funky little retro flowed piece screams "kitchen" to me, so I think it will go into a little wall quilt or table runner, or maybe both. Stay tuned. No shortage here of WIPs, or UFOs either for that matter. Good thing I like to have lots of things going at once.

4 comments:

Rian said...

That is a lovely sketch and painting. I can see that done up on a silk panel with dyes, floating in the breeze in your studio. I wish I could paint like that...

Thank you for the link to the tutorial.

Granny Fran said...

i like that applique method. your fabrics are great, i love kaffe fassett. your drawing and painting are so graceful, will this be the fp applique method?

Gerrie said...

I can't wait to see that painting in fabric. Yum! And don't you just love the Kaffe color sense. Mmmm!

Deb Hardman said...

I agree, I don't like to do copies of anything. It's much more fun to be spontaneous, & I think the results reflect that.

Your marbeled fabric is amazing. Nice finds.