Blackwork

Not traditional blackwork by hand, but machine quilting using black thread on white cloth.   I've been reading the book "Freemotion Quiltng Handbook" by Judy Woodworth.    That, in combination with the drawings on the site of Lu-ann Kessi, and an exercise to be done for next week's Morley class, inspired me to do free motion stitching in black.  Very tricky, as the black shows up every wavering line, but very good to see where those lines come in each shape, and perhaps find a creative solution ( other than just more practising) to adapt the design to cope with the wavering.

Piece of 30cm square sampler

Rose detail

Feather detail

Strips

This middle one is my favourite triangle ( without the dog hair!)

And finally, the binding is on the scrap quilt, sewn to the front, folded over, and stitched from the back with the machine serpentine stitch.  You can also see the wavy line quilting in the border here, where I deliberately set the tension such that a bit of the cream thread from the bobbin shows where the stitches interlock.  I thought this added a bit to the quilting, and also allowed me to keep the cream thread on the back really clear.

Back - yes there are shadows today.

Could I have an ice cube in this coffee?

On my way to Morley today for the start of the new term, and i was caught in a downpour.  I needed a cup of coffee to warm up.  Ordered my coffee, waited for it, and a very large young man hovered behind me.  Eventually he spoke, in an American accent, " Excuse me, could I have an ice-cube for this coffee?  I'm not British and I really can't drink coffee at this temperature".  Perhaps he was in a hurry, but it did make me laugh.  Anyway, those words made their way in to some of today's work with heat press ( transfer)  printing.

An exploration of the tree motif from last term, on a much smaller scale, with an overlay of a piece of the large scale, printed on polyester fleece.

Large tree motifs, positives and negatives - I really struggle to get my brain round this I think due to the inversion of the image at the same time.

Could I have an ice-cube……printed to try to hep me understand the inversion  and positive / negative aspects of transfer printing when using a photocopy.  Printed on polyester satin.

Printing one piece of painted paper to exhaustion, on fleece, 8 consecutive samples.

Summary of the day - it is wonderful to be back.

From the scraps of 2013 to the horizons of 2014

Last year I kept all of my minuscule scraps to try to pretend I was a "real quilter" - you know, one who uses old fabrics and recycles them into something glorious, rather than one who starts with glorious fabrics and just turns them into something else.   I randomly  stitched these scraps into blocks ( crumbs they are called by some) and used the strips left over form the Dr Who quilt to make sashing.  On this miserable, rainy, blustery day, what better time to show progress so far.  Photos need better light, but that's not going to happen today.  Blocs are about 7.5 inches finished.

Back - fabric that it is at least 10 years old.  This year's resolution is to use really old stash fabrics  - as that then assuages the guilt at purchasing items like this.

Front

I have layered this with hi-loft wadding for a different look and am finding this really tricky to quilt evenly - choosing circles doesn't help either.

Happy 2014 to all.

Improvisational curved piecing

These fabrics have been lying loved but unused for too long, so I decided to use them in some improvised, curved piecing exercises, trying to be logical in my order of cuts.  Each unit ended up being cut to 5 x 9 inches.

Interesting to look at the blocks in black and white to see that the red reads as a medium/dark value.

2013 challenge

I am so glad I got my energy back to finish this challenge.   The successful parts of this for me have been learning how to colour cloth with watercolour pencils, testing out various types of  bonding materials, and actually following through on a theme.  Next year's challenge is due to be announced soon, so I hope it will be one that I can learn from.

Merry Christmas all.

Racing to the finish line

With 10 days to spare I have finished my final journal quilt of 2013, on the theme of " Places I Remember"  I've veered a bit off topic for the past couple of months, by including places that are still very current.  That has remained the same for this month.
A bit of bling for Christmas

Shibori indigi-dyed sheeting, machine quilted using circle tool, raw edge applique, hand-beading.  Applique attached with MistyFuse, continuing my exploration of different bonding agents.  MistyFuse seems like the best so far and well worth the cost.

 About 4 years ago, I went to my first course at Morley College, and my creative life has been transformed. I have met very many interesting people, been to many exhibitions, and worked with many different materials. There is so much to see,discover and learn and I hope this month's quilt conveys my enthusiasm for everything that Morley continues to give me.

Twas the weekend before Christmas, and all through the house……

….not a creature was getting on with her Christmas wrapping as she was intrigued by a method for making thread-painted trees, as shown here.  This was a surprisingly straightforward technique.  In process,

Cut away from the hoop

Stitched in dark thread

Mounted for a thank you to be give later today.