Where have I been?

 Drawing, painting a bit, mucking about with collage a bit, mostly here, https://www.instagram.com/stitchinscience/. Staying sane.

The immediacy of Instagram is fun, connecting with other creative people from many disciplines is easy........................but it is owned by Facebook......................but here is owned by Google. Choices to be made about how to use these media in the near future. ( This interface seems more intuitive and predictable than when I was last here).

Ginkgo leaf stencils with oil paintstick.

 

Pantomime time - oh yes it's coming!

I am making toiles of pantomime costumes for musketeers, using two patterns, for children, and adults.  There are 5 different sizes of musketeers, from 8 ys old through to adult, so I am tracing and adapting the patterns as needed. 

The shoulder epaulettes were very soft and floppy, therefore I have tested reinforcing the right one with pelmet vilene.

I need to incorporate the musketeer symbol onto the costumes, probably with appliqué, but for these toiles, I am stencilling using freezer paper stencils and  fabric paint.

 

 

July journal, seedhead

The journal July is the first of three on the theme of seeds.  Stencilled fabric, then experimenting with different weights of threads.

Finished

Journal challenge continues - seeds

Having made my first six mini- quilts on the theme of  pollution, covering plankton and blue-green algae, I’m now moving on to seeds, taking a lot of inspiration from this incredible book by Rob Kesseler, and Wolfgang Stuppy.

The relationship to the overall theme of pollution in my journals this year is through two things.

First, 60% of the energy intake of the population of the world is from only three crops: rice, maize and wheat. Within these crops, biodiversity has decreased dramatically. If an untreatable plant disease, or an unknown pest damages any of these crops, many people will starve. With increasing levels of pollution, plants become less resilient and robust, and therefore less able to resist disease and pests.

Second, the Global Seed Vault, set up as a bulwark against catastrophic worldwide disaster, flooded this year, due to completely unexpected increases in temperature in the Arctic.

Trying to use my own source materials for this part of the series, I’m working on seeds that have parachutes, as it feels like the world needs a parachute at the moment. I think this is a Goat’s beard rather than a dandelion.

Stencilling with white paintstick and a freezer paper stencil to try to get the airiness of the seed head.

Detail

Stitching to come!

 

One million, nine hundred thousand machine stitches.....

….. in 28 months.  I know this fact due to having my sewing machine serviced by the charming Brett at Sewworks last week.  Much of that total is due to the denser machine quilting that I now find myself increasingly drawn to.  Some examples from the weekend, in more signs for our quilt show ( 23 - 25 October, Landmark Centre, Teddington).

Quilting patterns are wonky Greek key and big toe, as described by my family.

If I got down to 1,900,000 pencil lines my drawing would improve at the same rate as my stitching.

Quilt exhibition - don't touch!

Our quilt group is having its biennial exhibition from 23rd until 25th October this year.  A perennial question at such exhibitions is how to align the wish for attendees to touch the quilts with the need to keep said exhibits clean and undamaged.  There are always the ubiquitous white gloves, and the inevitable questions to those who are wearing them, summed up in this witty post.  The " don't touch" signs always seem very off-putting, so I've been pondering a better way to get the message across.

Exerimenting with freezer paper stencils and Markal paintsticks again, I've come up with these little banners that can be touched.  I can get about 4 good prints from each cut stencil, and can also use the stencil cut letters as masks.

Lost the comma from the letter masks.

Although this first example is machine quilted, I've layered up 5 of these as travel projects for over the summer.

Adventures with pencil and thread

Continuing explorations and sampling, I played around a bit this week with putting colour on cloth using watercolour pencils and Inktense pencils.  I'm still undecided about the Inktense, as the colours are so bright - and I usually like bright.  

As you can see, I am not a tidy worker.  Initial trials were with freezer paper stencils with water-colour pencils and ink pads.

This gave quite accurate and pleasant results.

The on to using Inktense on some of the quilted samples from the Philippa Naylor course, following the instructions here. I experimented with water only, water and textile medium, and textile medium on its own.  Water causes a lot of colour bleeding, could be good in some contexts, and the most refined results came form a mixture of water and textile medium - petals 1-6 in the flower on top right.

I needed some stitch work after that, working at my mobile sewing station.

Some postcards appeared for a swap next week.  The metallic threads on these proved very temperamental but isn't that fabric appropriate for this week?.

I have forced myself to get down to more drawing, I'm Ok with these results.

I've called this, " Will I keep them?" as I am still undecided about these shoes.  They are Clarks, and have actual Linton tweed in them, so I would be supporting two aspects of the British economy by keeping them.

Dislocate…..

….is the theme for the Contemporary Quilt Group challenge this year.  I have never entered before, and as I am not doing the journals this year, have decided to have a go at this.  Several notes to self already:

• read the size requirements before cutting out the piece ( 120cm x 50cm)
• read the size requirements again before planning the design
• was all applique fabrics before using, even if you think you have washed them before
• Markal paintsticks get very soggy if you leave them in the sun
• size 60 machine needles are very fragile
• Glue sticks get even more soggy that Markal paintsticks in the sun
• Applique pins are very small, and even if they are embedded in a carpet, can still damage the feet of family
• there will always, eventually be a use for tools that  are bought at quilt shows

Still, getting the size wrong meant that I had a ready-made "handling piece" that needs to accompany the finished quilt.  

I have always fancied making a Baltimore album quilt in a contemporary way, but know I won't have the patience, so this is a take on contemporary Baltimore, in a size I know I will finish.

Glimpses are here:

Paintstick stencil, this is about 8cm long

Hand and machine appliqué ( using a combination of methods from Beth Ferrier and Sew Much like Mom)  Circle is about 2.5cm diameter - this is the best one!

Applique pièces ready to stitch down.

Beware the Ides of March……

…because it is World Quilting Day, although there seems to be some uncertainty about that on the web, as some countries seem to be celebrating tomorrow.  I have some horrendous intestinal lurgy, so am celebrating the day at home, and during the times when I'm feeling OK, I am experimenting with Markal Paintsticks.    This is in preparation for a challenge piece on the theme of "Dislocate" for the Contemporary Quilt Group.

A vague enquiry about how waterproof these are, revealed the multitude of uses of these, what a revelation.  I think they will withstand a wash through with Synthrapol if they can withstand all of that.

Conference stitching

I am in Dublin, so needed a portable project to while away the travelling hours - just as well after this morning's delays at Heathrow.  My current large quilt is too big to lug about while travelling, so a rummage through the bits and pieces bag brought the panel below to the top of the bag.  A hand-stencilled panel, layered on to wadding, on which I can practise my embroidery stitches.

The great cushion is on the bed in the hotel, woven, although it looks appliqued.