'Dare to Do' - pieced

'Dare to Do' - pieced

 

This is actually my forth pieced panel.  After putting two together, I realized they were too large for me to add the necessary first panel.  I am enjoying putting this little bits together.  Using these lush, decorator fabrics with satin, glitz and velvet feels really good to me.  Love these combinations.  Of course these are my favorites to look at.  One major problem is working with the slippery fabrics and the velvet which seems to have a mind of its' own as it wiggles under the sewing machine.

 

Think I'll take a break and bind another chemo quilt.  Of course my mind will still be thinking about how best to put together one of these panels to cover my cupboard.

 

 

Nine Patch of Quakers

A tongue in cheek look at a nine patch with some very historically important Quakers. Although nothing similar to the traditional nine patch, it is nine different patches of nine different Quakers. The static square in a square contrasts to the movement in the background. The photos are printed on cotton fabric with durabrite ink which is guaranteed for at least 200 years if kept out of direct light. All photos are public domain.

 

Nine Patch of Quakers

17.75" square

 

Starting in the upper left, going clockwise, the Quakers are: Mildred Norman, known best as Peace Pilgrim who gave up all her belongings to walk and talk about the need for peace; Joan Baez who uses her music to campaign for Peace; Emily Greene Balch, who in 1946, shared the Noble Peace Prize [with John Mott] for her work with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; Lucretia Mott who was an abolitionist, women's rights activist and social reformer; Mary Anne Rawson who was an abolitionist; Elizabeth Cady Stanton who was a social activist, abolitionist,women's suffragist, and leading early figure in the women's rights movement; Susan B. Anthony who was an abolitionist, suffragist, and pioneer of feminism and civil rights; Laura Smith Haviland who was an abolitionist and social reformer; Jeannette Rankin was the first woman to serve in the United States Congress, helped pass the 19^th Amendment giving women the right to vote and a committed pacifist.

 

Nine Patch of Quakers detail

 

The women were first stitched with one layer of batting.  The faces/figures were cut out on the edges.  Then they were stitched to another layer of batting; double stitched around the figures.  Then they were attached to the background.  The black strips in between are heavily stitched to provide more lift to the individual women.

 

A REALLY BIG THANK YOU to all who responded to my blog post,

 

http://designerann.blogspot.com/2013/06/can-this-quilt-be-saved.html

 

The responses gave me a lot to consider and re-think my background.  Hard to believe it has taken me this long to almost finish it.  I say almost because I am having more hand problems and can not sew on a hanging sleeve.

Still, it is now something which I am able to take pride in creating.  I used old linens, softer colors, commercial fabric [some over  painted with gold, some over painted with gray], my fringed selvages, and velvet.  I absolutely HATE trying to bind with velvet.  However, I absolutely LOVE the rich look.  I know, conflict of interest here.  One more thing to work out.

 

 

This is seventy number 64.

 

For more information on "seventy", please see the post below.

 

http://designerann.blogspot.com/2013/01/one-black-square.html

Book Cover = Cone Flower

Fantasy Book Cover

10" x 10" framed

 

The Fast Friday Fabric Challenge was to create a book cover for one of our favorite books.   Because of my love of plants and gardening, I have many gardening books.  My frustration with all of them is that they try to cram too many photos or a photo of too many plants on the cover.

 

For example, one of my favorite books to use for plant identification has 3/4" photos on the edge and 1 1/4" photos on the front.  Only one of those little photos is 'legible'.  That photo is one single yellow flower on a black back ground.  The others have different colors, but all in the same tone.  No contrast.  Even with a magnifying glass, it is difficult to tell what plant they are showing. 

 

Because of this, I decided to create a book cover that I would like to see.  I also was so fond of my idea, I thought it might make a nice series.  However, because of the strictness of my design, everything had to be exact.  It was much easier on paper than fabric.  Paper doesn't stretch and move, sometimes with a mind of its' own.

 

Because my original photo was very busy with other flowers, it had to be painted over a LOT!  It still does not have enough contrast for me.  However, it is legible.

 

I am happy with this piece.  Not sure if I will make another in this series.  If I do it will be larger.  Working at this small size is too 'picky' for me.  I want to have a bit more leeway in framing. 

 

Beading Detail

 

I used tiny, iridescent seed beads on the top of solid small seed beads.  Those glaring dots in the photo are reflections of light.  I stretched the center of the flower with the round handle of my scissors.  Then I beaded it and stuffed it.  After mounting on the foam core, the perimeter of the 'cone' didn't want to lay flat.  I stitched the edges down with clear poly.  Now it has the depth that I wanted.  I like a lot of depth and texture.  I first stitched the petals to one layer of poly batting and a thin backing.  After stitching all of the petal veins, I cut around the petals so there was no batting between.  Then I made the usual layer of top-batting-backing.  I re-stitched around the petals so that they would have dimension.  Then I quilted the rest of the piece.

 

This is seventy number 63.

 

For more information on "seventy", please see the post below.

 

http://designerann.blogspot.com/2013/01/one-black-square.html

 

 

Selvage Purse

Selvage Purse

 

I have been wanting to create this for some time.  Because I have re-injured my right hand, I can do no hand work.  Therefore, I'm trying to find things I can make without any hand work.

 

This matches my cape. 

http://designerann.blogspot.com/2012/08/selvage-sun-cape.html

 

I also plan to add a strap between the two handles so that I may have the option of a shoulder strap.  The pocket is for sunglasses.  I broke one pair when kept inside another purse. 

 

This is seventy number 46.

 

For more information on "seventy", please see the post below.

 

http://designerann.blogspot.com/2013/01/one-black-square.html

 

 

PS. Seventy numbers 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45 were more name tags.

Fern Ballet

Fern Ballet

33" x 41.5"

 

The 'circle distortion' was caused by my camera.  I would appreciate knowing how to control this better. 

Fern Ballet, detail

 

I finished this enough to photograph last year.  I entered it in Houston, but unfortunately, it was not juried into the painted fabric category.  I made it my placing real ferns on the black fabric, covering them with a flour paste, removing the ferns, and finally using a thicken bleach to remove the desired amount of color.  Now it is 'ready for hanging' in an International Quilt Festival of Ireland 2013.   http://www.iqfoi.com/exhibits.html

 

Removing the flour paste turned out to be a BIG chore.  First I hosed it down outside.  Then I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed some more.  I had prewashed the fabric, so I am uncertain as to why the paste wanted to stick so very hard.  Unless that is its' nature.

 

I do not always like my experiments.  I am very fond of this one.

 

It is extremely heavily quilted to bring out the dimension in the ferns.  I was lucky enough to find this backing fabric with 'fringe' on the edge.  I utilized that on the bottom.  I finished the whole quilt in a similar technique I used for 'Quinceaneros:  The Dance'.   http://www.quiltart.com/15/   That is, I turned the backing fabric outside to become part of the trim.  Then I covered the edge with braid. 

 

This is seventy, number 21.

 

For more information on "seventy", please see the post below.

 

http://designerann.blogspot.com/2013/01/one-black-square.html