Transitioning back to my work

The National Needlework Archive asked for a sample to show for the workshop I am doing called Build a Fabric. So, that is what I have been working on the past couple days. It has made a good transition from alterations back to my own work.

The workshop is in conjunction with the Kazakhstan project, so I decided rather than making more fabric, to see what I could do with the offcuts from my dragon.

I like working with shapes that are left from cutting out. These suggested a city scape.

After some deliberation on positioning, I fused the shapes where I wanted.

Then I realised it was a bit unbalanced, so I added a sun/moon shape.

City Scape

Then zigzag round the edges of the shapes and some simple stitching. And to finish, a satin stitch edge.
I have added a split hanging sleeve in back (to give more options for how they wish to display it). Today it will go out in the post.

Meanwhile, the next project cooking in my brain is just about ready to start. I need to pull out some fabrics and do a couple trial experiments for techniques.

Workshops

I am putting out a tentative foot for doing a bit of teaching again.

On 28th September I am teaching a workshop at the National Needlework Archive. It is called Build a Fabric. The exhibition of the work made for Contemporary Quilt with the Kazakhstan challenge fabrics - now called '1001 Nights - Textile experiments with Kazakhstan fabrics' - will be on display. So my workshop will be about making the fabric like I did for making the Collared Dragon. Workshops at the National Needlework Archive are found here.

The Collared Dragon

And then next March, I will have a solo show at Lady Sew and Sew in Henley. Mostly about my gowns, but also textile art. I used the same technique in the Midnight Dance by Moonlight ensemble.

So, I am teaching Build a Fabric workshop at the Henley shop on 21 March. And then also a workshop on 22 March about making your own Ramshackle Houses.
You can see other workshops listed for Lady Sew and Sew here. Mine are currently on page 2.

Catching you up

Something on SATURDAY - at last
This week has been a bit up and down with headaches and/or backaches!
But at least now someone wants to do something about the headaches and I am being referred somewhere. But I had a headache and can't quite remember who I am going to see! so, I will remember when I get the letter with the appointment...or something.

Anyway, I did a few other things like collecting the Lilac and Lace gown from Henley. Consolidated a cupboard or two to get boxes on the floor into hiding. (I am storing the Worn Threads things, so I needed to make a bit of room to get at my cupboards.)

I have been working on the Ramshackle that I am not showing. It will be wide, which is a bit different. It is longer than my table, so I had to move the sewing machine to elongate the design area. I nearly have the houses cut out. Thanking a friend who gave me a little pack of tiny appliqué pins several years ago! I need to work out how to get it fused.

In sorting the cupboard, I found the perfect lace and fabric to go with the lovely silk I want to use for my gown for Festival of Quilts. So, now it is all propped in sight while I consider the shaping of the gown.

And so you have something to look at...

The cherry at the back of the house when it was blossoming and the sky gave a wonderful backdrop to the pale pink.

Quite a few leaves had already come out. They are all out now and no blossoms.

The weather is suddenly summer. Last weekend there was snow in some places! And here we had hail and sleet that piled up. If you can believe it, I am now wearing a short sleeve blouse...without a vest under it!

And during the week there have been some new possibilities open up. I am doing a solo show of gowns and work at Lady Sew and Sew next March. And also doing a couple of workshops in conjunction.
Also doing one or two workshops in conjunction with the Contemporary Quilt exhibitions at the National Needlework Archive this Autumn. The pieces made from the challenge fabrics from Kazakhstan will be on display there, so I am going to do a workshop about building a fabric like I used for the Collared Dragon.

So, here is hoping the head isn't so muddled next week and there will be something to post!

CQ-Kazakhstan Project - 10 finished!

And here we are! Bound edge and finished.

The Collared Dragon

And finally much more like the actual colour!

I haven't developed a story, other than when I went to think of a title. The collar seemed important to it. A subtitle is The Royal Pet. But I haven't added that to the work to send off. Especially if it is to travel, they will have to translate! Collared Dragon is sufficient for now.

So, to get the accurate colour, I turned off the light so that the only light was through the patio windows. (Patio windows are the only source of outside light in my studio. So, that is why the overhead lights are daylight tubes.) Then I took a photo with the flash. Problem is, I can't remember if it was on intelligent auto or normal photo. But it is an option to try again the next time!

The dragon is 'winging' its way to the collection point for CQ and then will go with the rest of the British pieces out to Prague and on to the rest of the journey.

CQ-Kazakhstan Project - 9

Here is the dragon needing a binding.

Please do remember or use your imagination that the background is black! But even in real life, with the colours I used it does read as a very black green. So it is a good thing one of the options for backing was dark green. I haven't enough of that black to make the binding, so I will be using a matt black which may help with reading the colour correctly.

One more thing...I still had one more fabric I hadn't used. The purple devore velvet. So, yes, I used a small bit for the eye, but still. So anyway, I got the bright idea to make a velvet collar. Which works very well.

The dragon had an outing at the Thames Valley Contemporary Textiles group today, so has had much admiration already.

Now for the funny part. I re-read the instructions before trimming to the 50cm square. .....

Oh...it says use 4 or 5 of the fabrics which were sent to you.
hmmm.....

Well, I suppose if I had remembered that, I would have been less successful at 'making it work'.

I have learned that it will also be making a tour beyond the exhibition at the Prague Patchwork Meeting in the Czech Republic. "After PPM the quilts will be taken over by Bernina representative for a tour : Germany, Slovakia, Kazakhstan, Russia....."

CQ-Kazakhstan Project - 8

I am nearly ready to reveal this work. But today I am talking about solving issues.

First of all, I must say it wasn't just a matter of stitching the dragon to the background. It kept stopping like it was stuck on something and often breaking the thread.
I...used a different thread
...changed the position of the thread reel
...changed the needle
...changed to a single hole needle plate(thinking the backing fabric was catching)
...changed to an open toe darning foot (from the normal darning/free machine embroidery foot)
...eventually I realised that because of the chopping and fusing to make the fabric for the dragon and then applying it to 3 layers, that some sections were just a little too high for the foot to have good clearance. SO, I used the tool that is meant to make moving the machine easier and soldiered on (being glad it wouldn't be judged for the stitching).

Furthermore...I learned these things.

1 - when you stitch an appliqué dragon onto a background. Be sure you have taken all the pins out. This is the back.

I used a long pair of tweezers to manipulate the pin through a gap I made in the stitching.

2 - if you get poked with the pin, check to see if you have drawn blood.

I used dish soap on a damp cloth to get the most of it out. (I may write a dragon story and stitch it to the back!)

CQ-Kazakhstan Project - 7

I had a meeting last night and another tonight. So, just another quick photo.

The background has had the clouds stitched on through the 3 layers...in effect quilting it. (the threads need snipped!)

I will stitch the flames down when I make sure the dragon is in the right position. That is what some of those pins are for, so I can get it centred right.
When I stitch the dragon on, it will also go through the 3 layers and since I am using felt for a wadding, it doesn't really need more quilting than that.

I hope to get the dragon on and possibly the binding this weekend. I have to send it off Monday at the latest.

CQ-Kazakhstan Project - 6

Quick update on the dragon...it might be a she!

I found a solution to the eye. and it comes with lovely lashes! A bit of the chiffon print ...green surrounded by cream...and a bit of the devore velvet.

I am in the midst of the outlining and so on. But the rest of the day got very busy. So no time for more info today!

CQ-Kazakhstan Project - 5

Meanwhile... remember the fabric selection?

There were 2 pieces of velvet...the kind with a sort of acetate backing. They definitely could not be part of the chop and fuse desperate fabrics to make a dragon fabric.

So, clouds. Only they were about 9 in x 4in (give or take) which doesn't lend itself to many clouds! and they would need to be purple and green clouds.

Ah but what about these kind of clouds.

At the moment I am still considering how to keep them in place. Not sure yet.

And while we are at it, what about the flower print chiffon? You might have noticed in yesterday's photo that I cut a tongue from the red flowers in the print.

The chiffon was far too slippery to fussy cut anything out. So I fused it to a black satin, which also brought the print to life a bit somehow. After I cut the tongue, then I made some templates of flames from freezer paper. Very fiddly, but I cut them out and here is trying placement.

If you can believe this, the 'green' background is really a glazed black cotton. and the flames are scarlet red, not orange. The camera was not quite sure what to do with it!
Again, disregard the eye. I was trying to see if I could use the final piece of fabric in some way. It is devore velvet. It doesn't actually shine as much as that. I may stitch detail into it or something. Not sure. I don't know how else to use that piece of fabric.

CQ-Kazakhstan Project - 4

And here is what the dragon looks like cut out.

I rubbed out the background he was on so you could see what he looks like on his own.

He needs some definition. I have stitched him to felt in a grid pattern to hold the pieces together better. I used a toning rayon thread and it does not distract from the bits of fabric.

Here he is with a little work to give definition and to help me know what I need to do next for him.

Please disregard the eye for now. It needs more thinking!

CQ-Kazakhstan Project - 3

Final version of the fabric I made by chopping an fusing. However, this is not fused at this point.

I wasn't sure the two fabrics I showed the other day would work together, but they blend very well because of the aubergine colour fabric they are adhered to.

So that is the fabric. What will it all be for? Why not a Dragon?
Here are steps the dragon went through to be what I had in mind.

I am not that good with drawing imaginary animals bodies. So, here is an example of how I make it work.
I start with a copyright free image from someplace like my Dover Publications Dragon book. An image that has the creature in a position near to what I have in my mind.


Then I enlarge. And start manipulating the image...so far I do it by chopping sections apart and doing things like making a neck longer or a body bigger. (Now that I have a Wacom Tablet for Christmas, I am hoping I can do these things on the computer.)


I do this till I am nearly happy.

Then trace it out onto plain paper so I can get a better idea of the whole.


This is where I fine tune it. sort out a claw or smooth out a kink in the tail. adjust the wings. extend the 'ear wings' and discover he wanted to have horns.


All to make it look more natural. "If it did exist, would it be able to function in this form?"


Then I lay the dragon onto the fabric and adjust the strips so the dragon can be cut from it. I had to shorten some of the strips where the width wasn't needed and use them to extend the strips where it was needed.


And then fuse the strips down and prepare to cut out the dragon image. Because it was freezer paper, it can have a temporary hold enough to keep pattern on fabric while it is cut out.

Hopefully more steps tomorrow.

CQ-Kazakhstan Project - 2

So...next step on the K-Project.
I thought the best way to integrate fabrics which are so unlike each other is to chop and fuse to make them into ...fabric!

brown to purple

to green/blue paisley

to aubergine

and then

lilac (satin showing here as white) to red

to aubergine

This is a technique I have used in the past for things like this moon. (inside back of the Midnight Dance coat)

It makes it look like you spent ages piecing!

 



So with much chopping and adding of a few fancy fabrics of my own I have two pieces of fabric that should work together. They need one more chopping and then adding to the light green behind them. I am not sure, but I might blend them.

And now I am a lot happier about thinking I can do this!

CQ - Kazakhstan project - 1

I have started work on something for a project initiated by the Prague Patchwork Meeting in the Czech Republic.

Here is a bit of the history as from the PPM newsletter.
Three years ago, Mr. Eibisch, back then Bernina representative for Eastern Europe, brought back from his Turkmenistan journeys 8 fabrics, .... The fabrics were cut to small pieces and distributed to quilters around the Czech Republic, later on quilters from Slovakia and Germany joined the project.
In the following year, we have followed up with fabrics from Uzbekistan...
This year the challenge incorporates fabrics from Kazakhstan, and the quilters come from 5 countries including the UK.

Also, each year there is a size and shape format. For instance, the quilts made from the fabrics from Uzbekistan were made up into a triangles shape, which were then displayed on circular tables with the pieces arranged together like a pizza or a large hexagon.

The Contemporary Quilt group was asked to find 10 interested members to make work for the British Submissions for 2015. I don't mind working with unusual materials, so I said 'yes, please!' and soon received the fabrics. Since then I have been thinking about how I might make them work.

I have pinned them all to a folded sheet so I can think about them as I develop ideas. Some, being jacquards could be used either side.

Here are the rules for this year.
 

Rules of the Kazakhstan project for 2015:

Format of the quilt: 50 x 50 cm square

Material: 4-5 fabrics from Kazakhstan and
any further fabrics to accompany these

Background: black or dark red or dark green
(always single colour fabric without any pattern)

Sleeve: 1cm from the top edge and 2-3cm from the sides, 78cm wide

The author, address and contact details
are to be provided on the back of the quilt

Deadline: 28 February 2015

Fees: no fees, covered by PPM

Technique: any, three layers, quilted

So, I think I have my idea now. I also have selected some fabrics from my stash which I might need to add to complete the work. So, I have begun to develop thoughts about what techniques would be best.

Although the deadline says February, I have to send mine by the 20th January to the person collecting from Contemporary Quilt, who will gather the work to be added to others from the Quilt Guild. Then all of them will be sent or taken to Prague for the exhibition.