Quilt

In keeping with my using leftovers this year, I found the floral print that was left after making a Wearable Art garment. The leaves had the machining on them, but the rest I did in making the quilt. I rather like the print and am glad to not waste any of it. Blogger, of course, put it on its side.

The wild border seemed to belong with it. I tried carrying out the design into the background with the quilting. It's subtle but was fun to do.

Happy New Year to everyone. Let's hope it's a good one.

When I started the Journal Quilt challenge at www.3creativestudios.com I said I would do l a month which wasn't much of a challenge, since that was also what I was doing for the Bead Journal Project. Next thing I know, I'm pulling out samples from things I've tried over the years and putting them in Journal quilts. It's the perfect solution for saving the samples and organized some of them( I like to try things and experiment).

It's still hard to believe that this is number 52! It was a fun trip. Quilt group is today, so I'm bringing them, so everyone can choose one for their Christmas gift. We exchange hand crafted things---or candy. What could be better?

Gifts

These are the gifts I received from Vicki at www.3creativestudios.com for being in the Technique of the Month Challenge. I've enjoyed all the challenges and will miss them when she and Terri close the site at the end of the year. Thank you so much not only for the gifts, but for all the hard work you've both put in.

The pressing sheet will get lots of use, the book looks interesting and is one I don't have( a bookaholic), Misty fuse is my favorite fusible. The fabrics beautiful. The journal from Sue B stunning, and a handmade card.

Quilt

Here's my motif again. I had the striped fabric from another project and wondered how it would work as patchwork sections. I like the effect and need to do more exploring. Again, I quilted it to echo the design lines.

Happy Holidays to everyone.

Painted fabric

I managed to do a couple more small pieces of fabric with the Sharpie Permanent Markers and alcohol. It pleases me to think that something that is "permanent" is so easy to manipulate.

Now I have a few pieces that relate and need to do something with them.

Journal Quilt

I cut a stencil from freezer paper and ironed it on turquoise fabric. Then I used small round labels and page reinforcers also as resists. Next came green paint. I hand stitched around the resulting shapes using hand dyed perle cotton and the back stitch and buttonhole stitch.

The result was the right size as a base for another journal quilt by adding the gold painted strips. It is machine quilted in those areas and edged with Chenille yarn using the zigzag stitch.

Quilt

I finally quilted the piece that uses the motif I work with and batik fabrics. I do love batiks. Sometimes it takes a while before the piece tells me how it wants to be quilted. Two are waiting in the studio right now. For this one I followed along the shapes of the dark areas and then added a few lines where they seemed to need to go. I mark with a soap sliver which comes out easily with a shot of steam when I block the piece after the quilting. Be sure to test though, as I've known people who were sorry with their marking method.

Lace Purse

When we were in California, a friend and I used to go to a special antique store. I always look for purse frames. Since this one isn't antique, the nice lady gave it to me.

It has sat around here for a long time but the painted lace seemed like it needed to go with it. I painted the lace with acrylic paints then bonded it to lining fabric. To make a pattern I traced just inside the frame then flipped it to create the bottom shape. I cut it out after adding seam allowances.  Once the fabrics were seamed and the lining attached leaving the bottom of the lining open, I beaded the flower centers.

Attaching it to the frame was a challenge, since it is hard to sew that close to the metal and is done by hand. To cover the stitching, I put 4 beads on each section then hand stitched lace on the inside to cover that stitching. It's the way the antique ones were done.  It's not my favorite but was a good learning experience.

Journal Quilt

In a box of samples, I found this painted flower that I did sometime in the past. Machine embroidery brought out the colors more and added definition. It is machine echo quilted with a variegated rayon thread and edged with a fuzzy pink yarn.

Quilt

Years ago I played around with Shiva Paint sticks using masking tape as a resist. I put the paint on the tape and used an old tooth brush to pull it onto the black fabric. I like the way it shades out using that method.

In this time that I've been pulling old samples out and seeing if I can do something with them, I found this and decided to hand stitch along the edges of the paint using Chain Stitch.

All the things I considered for finishing the piece were too complicated and detracted from it, so I went with a simple black border. To stop the lines from taking the eye off the center, I hand stitched a small border using Back Stitch.

The hand stitching is done in a cotton thread that I dyed. The quilting is straight line in black thread.

Woven papers

I have so many papers that I decided to see what would happen if I wove them.

It's not the traditional weaving.

I made slits in a paper and wove strips through the slits.

This makes them 2 sided. Now I need to use them for something.

Journal Quilt

The final Journal quilt for www.beadjournalproject.com It's hard to believe that another year is gone. This also works for the journal quilt a week for www.3creativestudios.com  I'll miss them now that they are going on to other things. The Bead group is going for another year at least. It's a lot of work to do this for people, and I appreciate the efforts of both groups.

Somehow December seems gray and silvery to me, so that's why I picked this color palette. I had the silver leaf trim in my stash having bought it on a trip with my friend. The beads are clear, so they are hard to see.

Quilt

As usual blogger put it sideways, but I like it this way. It's a machine quilted hanging that's  about 18" by 28". The Batik was my starting point. I wanted to hand stitch with back stitch to highlight some of the print then wondered what would happen if I extended it into the blue surrounding fabric and changed the color to the red.

I think it's a good way to "marry" the batik with the background. Here's a detail. Batiks are some of my favorite fabrics.

Painted Papers

Years ago we used to go to a Paper Event at Portland State University in Portland, Or. I bought some papers that had a resist printed on them. The site on the package is no longer available, so I doubt that I can get any more.

They are painted by sweeping an ink pad over them. It needs to be a juicy one--at least with my old papers.

I found them again recently and decided to color them.

I did try other things-watercolors, ink pens, colored pencils, watercolor pencils, and pastels, but the thing that works are the ink pads.

They came in lots of different patterns.

I'll use them for cards or in books.It's been a good project for this crazy fall we'd had.

Thanks for all the suggestions on the Journal quilts. It has given me ideas. I might use the batik ones I did several years ago for www.beadjournalproject.com to make a bigger quilt by joining them. I'll need to make one more, as I traded with a lady in Medicine Hat, Canada. To see them check the site and go to the Journals section. My page is Sandy Jandik.

A book is another appealing idea for some of my favorites.

Selling is something I used to do-did craft shows, boutiques, sales at home, and galleries. It takes a lot of time and energy. I'd rather just create now and trade with people who want them.

Journal Quilt

Another Journal Quilt for www.3creativestudios.com I find it hard to believe that the year is almost up, and I've made a Journal quilt for each week. Now--what do you do with 52 Journal quilts? My quilt group will each get to pick one as their Christmas present, but that still leaves 40 of them/39 of them. I gave one to my doctor this week for putting up with me. Any ideas?

This is another fused one using a print fabric with fish motifs. The leaves are freehand cut and machined in place. It is machine quilted and edged with a zigzag over yarn. When I do that type of edge, I go around two times at least so it looks full enough and covers the raw edge. A permanent fabric pen works to cover any batting still showing.

Quilt

Another small quilt based on a felted piece. A thick and thin yarn was felted to a background piece of felt then hand stitched. I had some wire shapes I'd made to try a jig for bending wire that wanted to go on the piece. After applying the felt to a batik cotton and bordering it in a solid, I machine quilted it adding some machine embroidery to extend the shapes of the yarn areas.

Here's a detail.

I was just playing around the other day and decided to try a wonky 4 patch in batiks. It is always fun to arrange colors and this is what I came up with. It's about 45" by 50". I'm not sure when or if I'll quilt. I just like to strip piece.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate.

Journal Quilt

Years ago I made a stencil from a file folder in a class with Beth Jennedy. After cutting it and adding net to hold all the sections together, the piece is coated on both sides with acrylic paint to seal it. I save the cutouts and have the negative image as a stencil too.

This is a hand painted background cotton with Lumiere stenciled on it. Then I used Herringbone Stitch to cover the lines. Another hand pained fabric forms the binding.

Painted fabric

A couple of friends were over to have a play with Sharpie Permanent Markers. I think it is a blast that these "Permanent" marker bleed when you add alcohol to the painted surface and create nice patterns.  I started with a painted background that's on a synthetic fabric.

I drew squiggly lines with the markers and then added the alcohol. I like it much better now.

I meant to take pictures, but we were so caught up in experimenting that I forgot.

Quilt

Yesterday was the real day for Fiberaction, so here is the quilt I posted. This time in the correct way. Blogger likes to play. The word was Structure which to me means rigid and organized.

The fabrics are painted cotton scraps that I bought at a quilt show. They seemed to want to play together. The brown was just strips which gave me the idea. The machine quilting was to echo the structure of the shapes. I think this should be part of a series, but I didn't get back to it yet. Fall is being a challenge.

Be sure to check out the others using the button at the right.

Bead Journal Quilt

Here's the November Crazy Quilt for www.beadjournalproject.com  After piecing a background, I added lace and the flower trim by hand then beaded it.

This also works as the weekly journal quilt for www.3creativestudios.com  I love getting more than one use for a project.

Quilt

This is my latest piece featuring a felted insert. I hand stitched the large sequins in place by using the foundation for a Spider Web then surrounded them with Chain Stitch. To echo the Sequins, I used Back Stitch and more Chain Stitch.  It was then applied to a hand dyed cotton and machine quilted.  The edge is yarn zigzagged by machine.  The piece is about 16" by 20". Blogger insisted that it be sideways, but I like it, so I left it.

 Here is a detail. The color is actually a bit more intense.

Jewelry

I like to take larger beads and create a ruffle around them, so I was working on some brown ones thinking I would make a complicated necklace from them. Then reality set in. I don't like brown; I don't wear brown. Did I really want to spend so much time on a necklace? NO It wouldn't look good close to my face anyway.

The result became a bracelet, because I just needed to stitch the finished circles to ribbon that had stabilizer behind it. It's backed with ribbon to have a finished lining. The edging is picot stitch. A button and loop became the closure.

Next I'll work on a color I like!

Journal Quilt

Here's this week's Journal quilt for www.3creativestudios.com It was done on a very light hand painted cotton. I rarely do light and hadn't really used the piece. The appliques are all from the box of scraps with fusible on the back. It's machine quilted with yarn zigzagged to the edge.

Quilt

Blue Zen started out as a drawn zentangle that I enlarged and transferred to a hand painted cotton. When I enlarge something, I transfer it to fabric by hand stitching with a contrasting thread through the tissue copy. It is more labor intensive, but you don't have to worry about a pencil or pen not coming out of the fabric. Do watch out for the color of thread you use. Once I used a dark green on a light fabric and when pulling out the basting after the stitching was done, it left dye behind. That's the time you get creative to cover the mistake/design challenge up.

Here is a detail. It is hand stitched with Perle Cotton, silk and embroidery floss using Chain and Back Stitches. The sequins are held on with a bead.The quilting is by machine.

Journal Quilt

Two more pieces of fabric from McIrishAnnie http://quilttilyouwilt.blogspot.com went into this Journal Quilt. It was a fun package full of treasures that she sent me.  Mother of Pearl buttons decorate the center panel. The edging is zigzagged yarn.

I took a class from Christen Brown through www.joggles.com several years ago and liked the concept of beading on ribbon to make a bracelet.

I decided to try my own version by making a narrow one and doing the closure differently. I also made it more geometric. The ends lap over and snap together. The big snap is very secure, believe me. I have trouble getting it off!  I used some of the buttons from my collection and am pleased with the result.

I tried to take a photo of it on my wrist, but it didn't work at all. It's too small to fit anyone else. I also forgot to take the camera to my quilt group, so one of them could take the photo. So this is what you get to see.

Quilt

This was a piece I'd started ages ago and found in a pile of fabrics. I decided it was worth finishing, so here it is.  It's about 20" by 40". The grays are hand dyed but the rest of the fabrics are commercial. I like the red stripe.

Here is a detail of "Marching Along". No matter how I tried to give it another name, this one was insisting on being the name.

Journal Quilt

Another weekly Journal quilt for www.3creativestudios.com   This one uses some leaves that had fusible on the back. They are machine embroidered using a straight stitch then echo quilted. The edging is a Chenille yarn couched down.

Class

Here is the piece I did in Kari McKnight's class  http://backporchartessa.blogspot.com  at Portland's Art and Soul. What a giving, fun teacher.  It is on a stretched canvas which is something I haven't done much of. The scenes are copies of photos I took from a canoe on a river in central Oregon. Leaves and Nature-always my theme. The writing is my motto-I am of the Earth.

Quilt, Gift

This is about 30" square and the strips are from leftovers. I've been organizing scraps by cutting them into strips and joining them. I decided I needed to see if I could make a quilt with them before I put more effort into the project. I use the cut strips as the starting piece when I strip piece a top and in between sewing sections of it, so I'm not using creative time on this.

My Journal Quilt number was drawn to receive the prize this month at www.3creativestudios.com , and I received this beautiful packet of hand dyes from Vicki called Rosebud and also a package of Misty Fuse. I love getting things! Thank you Vicki.

Book

I had tried felting scraps of fabrics of unknown fiber content to a piece of craft felt to see what would happen. The finished piece sat around for ages when inspiration hit-a book cover! Because the fabrics were assorted, I machine quilted a wonky grid on top of them to make sure it didn't fall apart. It's tied with a leather strip that had also sat around for years. It's so satisfying to be using things that I couldn't part with but had not found a place to put.

The signature covers are painted papers. The two toned one is embossed wallpaper from a sample book.

Journal Quilt

MaIrish Annie http://quilttilyouwilt.blogspot.com sent me the center piece for this Journal quilt when we exchanged things. It is so pretty that it needed little else. I bordered it with painted fabric and edged it by zigzagging yarn to it.  The buttons are from my collection.

This is another Journal Quilt for www.3creativestudios.com  It's been a good exercise to do one a week and get a chance to experiment with some ideas.