August 2016 Stitch-In

Susan P.

Well...I've certainly been away from this blog...my apologies! I've been busy contemplating the next five weeks...getting prepared for lots of classes and events (which I'll highlight in future posts).

Today was a nice respite...getting together for the August Stitch-In!

Susan P.: Cheese cloth and stitching.

Susan P. is continuing to work on her black and white squares...the series originally started in my Hand Stitching class... I just love what she is doing. Deceptively simple but effective compositions...only 4" squares...but can't you just imagine these larger?

Susan P.

Susan P.

 Ann Z. brought in her now finished piece from last month. It is so rich with the addition of many Running Stitches.

Ann Z: Finished piece

Ann is off for a two week trip to Ireland. She decided to start a piece called, "Pilgrimage" and will use it as a stitch journal during her travels. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Ann Z: Pilgrimage

Jodie continued on her piece from last month. I couldn't get a good new photo of it ...so here is one I took last month. I love all the patterns and textures and how she is using her stitches to integrate the two.

Jody F.

This was Helen B.'s first time at the Stitch-In. She just finished a piece based on a drawing of a map of Anchorage, Alaska. What a great idea!

Helen B.: Anchorage map

Helen B.: Detail

During the Stitch-In she began a new piece jumping off from a sterling silver pin design (which she inherited). She is planning to incorporate the pin into the stitched piece. This got us talking about jewelry inherited from mothers and grandmothers and how one might create pieces (of jewelry; of art) that would honor those precious possessions.

Helen B: Using a silver pin for inspiration.

Peggy G. brought in a piece that she started in a class at Artistic Artifacts...piecing a quilt top (or hanging) which used a batik panel as the focal point. Judy Gula, owner of Artistic Artifacts also owns Batik Tambal..and the shop has quite an array of gorgeous batiks from a number of Indonesian artists.

Peggy G.

Peggy is adding hand stitched details and plans to hand quilt it. Lots of hours of stitching ahead!

Peggy G.: Notice the stitched details (white on white).

I brought in two of my "swatch" books from the summer and continued adding stitching. I'll be sure to show you more about them and a book about my grandmother's sewing basket in a future post.

Julie B.: Swatch book about Cape Cod.

Looking forward to next month's Stitch-In!

Serene Scene

Winter is having it out with Spring today..but... it is serenely and silently beautiful...
My "boys" are home and safe and I am enjoying a day of moving a bit more slowly.

Stitching the border on Early Spring. I'm really enjoying making these small back stitches with blended threads of embroidery floss (two thread colors in the needle). I bought the variegated thread from Artistic Artifacts (I drool over all the hand-dyed threads that Judy Gula offers there!). It's called Frida and is part of the Painter's Threads line by Tentakulum.

I'm longing for an early Spring...but Winter is having none of that!...at least for today!

Day #6: Fabric Printing at Home Blog Tour

Welcome to Day #6 of the Fabric Printing at Home Blog Tour! We're moving right along here. For those of you just now joining us, Welcome! This has been a fun first week of sharing. If you are just now finding out about the Tour, be sure to look back over the last five days for tips and projects and to journey over to the guest bloggers mentioned in each post. A total of 14 copies of Fabric Printing at Home are being given away to some lucky winners! Just by commenting you are entered in the drawing. In the meantime, I'll continue to give away daily prizes. Just leave a comment at the end of this post and you're entered.

Today's stop on the Tour is Judy Gula's blog. I've known Judy for many years. We used to belong to the same fiber gallery (Potomac Fiber Arts). A number of years ago, Judy took the big and amazing step of starting a retail business called, Artistic Artifacts. Artistic Artifacts is known world-wide, via the Internet, for its mixed media and fiber art supplies. It's VERY hard to walk into her shop and not walk out with a tool or supply that you can't wait to play with! She also has a wide range of classes in mixed media and surface design (I just taught a two-day class there). Here's Judy's bio:

Judy Vincentz Gula has been working in fiber since elementary school. Since middle school, she has been a weaver, a spinner, a dyer, and a collector. Later, she studied fashion design at Radford University, earning degrees in fashion design and business marketing. Judy now enjoys merging all that she has learned from her many interests and channeling that into making art quilts and samples for her shop, Artistic Artifacts.

http://www.artisticartifacts.com/blog/

 Stop by Judy's blog today and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Fabric Printing at Home.

Recycle Treasure Trove (Hoarders...Beware!)

Friday is recycling day in my house so on Thursday (when I wrote this), I decided to take a look at what materials were available to turn into print blocks, stencils and rubbing plates. Here is my recycling inventory list along with page references from Fabric Printing at Home where you can find all the details to turn trash into surface design treasure! What treasures are hiding in your recycling bin?

1. Corrugated cardboard boxes: Texture Blocks from Kitchen Staples pp. 34-37; Cardboard: The Thick and Thin of It: How to Make Cardboard Print Blocks pp. 78-81;  Junk Mail Jackpot p. 84.

2. Thin cardboard including cereal and other food boxes: Cardboard: The Thick and Thin of It pp.78-79; Cardboard Stencils pp. 82-83.

3. Postcards: Cardboard Stencils pp. 82-83; Postcard Pizzazz p. 85.

4. Cardboard tubes: Playing with Plastic Wrap p. 69; On a Roll: Fabric Designs from Cardboard Tubes pp. 88-89.

5. Clothing catalogs: Junk Mail Jackpot: Deconstructing Clothing Catalogs p. 84-87.

6. Envelope with cellophane window: Simple and Sweet: Cellophane Window Stencils p. 87.

7. Newspaper: Junk Mail Jackpot: Deconstructing Clothing Catalogs p. 84-87.

8. Foam meat trays: Making Your Mark: Designing Print Blocks from Recycled Foam pp. 90-91.

9. Netting from a Clementines' box: Create a Collage Design with Layered Textures pp. 30-33.

10. Plastic fruit containers: Found Objects and Kitchen Tools p. 44; Playing with Plastic Wrap p. 69.

11. Egg carton: Found Objects and Kitchen Tools p. 44.

12.  Aluminum soda cans: Artful Aluminum: Create Decorative Shapes from Recycled Cans and Pans pp. 92-93.

13. Aluminum cake pan: Artful Aluminum: Create Decorative Shapes from Recycled Cans and Pans pp. 92-93.

Today's giveaway is a mini hot glue gun and glue sticks. You can use these to make one of my favorite types of print blocks! Leave a comment for a chance to win. I will choose a winner at 11:00 PM Eastern USA time. Check tomorrow's post to see if you are the winner. Your comment also enters you in the final drawing on February 15 for a free copy of Fabric Printing at Home: Quick and Easy Fabric Design Using Fresh Produce and Found Objects. 

 And now for the winner of yesterday's giveaway (Non-stick Fiskars scissors)....congratulations to Kathy Davis! Please email me with your contact information (threadborn@cox.net) so I can send off your prize.

Tomorrow, the Tour stops at Susan Purney Mark's blog. Susan is an accomplished quilter and teacher and I'm excited to have one of her works in Chapter 7: Contributing Artists.
 
Be sure to visit all the stops on the Tour:
February 2: Lisa Chin
February 3: Lynn Krawczyk
February 4: Jane Davila 

February 5: Carol R. Eaton 

February 6: Judy Gula 

February 7: Susan Purney Mark 

February 8: Teri Lucas 

February 9: Jennifer Coyne Qudeen 

February 10: Deborah Boschert 

February 11: Lynda Heines 

February 12: Cheryl Sleboda 

February 13: Terri Stegmiller 

February 14: Jackie Lams

The Printed Fabric Bee: Art Nouveau Collection Giveaway

It's the beginning of the month and time for another fabric giveaway from The Printed Fabric Bee. This month's queen bee was Jackie Lams and she asked us to interpret the theme, Art Nouveau.

Had some trouble with this one. I spent hours on Pinterest looking at images. In the end, I decided to do a piece that emphasized lines reminiscent of the period. I also decided to use the painting and resist techniques covered in Issue #18 of Julie B Booth Surface Design News. I go into more depth about the technique in the newsletter but you can get the gist of it here.

First, I ironed torn strips of freezer paper onto the fabric.

I then painted the uncovered areas of the fabric, alternating colors. I made sure I painted along the edges of the freezer paper so that the paint would flow and mix underneath the paper.

I drew designs with blue school glue gel and let them dry.

I ironed on another set of torn freezer paper strips, covering and exposing different areas of the fabric.

Another round of painting.

I wasn't totally happy with the result, so I mixed up a color that was a bit bluer and painted a few areas to better blend the colors.

Here is the finished 12" square and the 6" square for the giveaway.

To have a chance at the complete collection leave a comment on either Jackie Lams' blog or The Printed Fabric Bee blog. The winner will be announced on May 17th. Good luck!

And one more thing...
Two other members of The Printed Fabric Bee were in town (Alexandria, VA just west of DC) for the SAQA conference. I had the chance to meet Carol Eaton and (after too many years!) see Lesley Riley (mentor and friend). We had a great evening along with some other SAQA members and friends (including Judy Gula of Artistic Artifacts and quilt artist, Christine Adams). Lots of laughing and sharing. I got to see Carol's AMAZING fabrics in person (and of course had to buy a couple of yummy yards!). Hope some day we can get the whole Bee together!

Experiments in Printing with Arlington Quilters Unlimited

Trudi S.

Saturday, I taught a printing class to a great group of women who were all members of the Arlington, Virginia chapter of Quilters Unlimited. Delightful and fearless...we got a lot done. This was the first time they had carved print blocks...I was impressed! We had the class at the wonderful Artistic Artifacts. It was so great to see owner, Judy Gula, who I've known for quite a long time.

Enjoy this colorful selection of prints by these creative quilters...

Andrea H.

Beth R.

Jodie F.

Judy S.

Judy S.

Karen M.

 

Karen M.

Libby S.

Libby S.

A Visit to Artistic Artifacts

Batik panels

Yesterday, I made a trip to Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, Virginia. It's been a while since I last visited. I know the owner, Judy Gula, through our fiber guild and cooperative gallery. I saw the business in its fledgling stages and was excited to see how it's grown since then.

Artistic Artifacts or "The Annex", is housed in a warehouse-type building. As you walk through the door, you are transported into a world of colorful fabrics, yarns, paints and the ephemera used by mixed-media and quilt artists. You can get lost looking at all these goodies.

Hand dyed textiles

A great supply of bonding materials. I bought some of the Mistyfuse.

Surface design products: Shiva Paintstiks, texture plates, markers, stencils

Colorful batik fabrics

Artistic Artifacts carries the Stewart Gill Paint line

A nice selection of hand dyed yarns

In addition, Judy recently bought Batik Tambal. I was amazed by the colorful Indonesian textiles and batik panels along with a great selection of copper batik stamps. This fish panel was a real beauty!

I loved this batik panel!

A large selection of copper batik stamps

I've been asked to put together some proposals for teaching at The Annex, in particular a class in doll making. I can imagine what fun it will be to incorporate some of these amazing textures and fabrics into my dolls!